Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Chaim Bloom On Mookie Betts: Red Sox Need To "Explore All Options"

(Getty Images)
On a chilly post-snowstorm morning in Boston, there can be no more chilling Mookie Betts-related words than "exploring all options". And yet, those are the words used by Boston's Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom when asked about the situation with the 2018 AL MVP. Mookie will be paid around $28 million in 2020—the final year of his current contract. The Red Sox have tried to re-sign Mookie long-term, but he has resisted—eyeing a lucrative plunge into the free-agent market next Fall. Bloom can still get a long-term deal done—but it would likely have to be in the Bryce Harper-type stratosphere (or even higher). Think $30-35 million a year over 10-12 years. For a team facing a John Henry mandate to slash payroll (already the largest in MLB) that's a tall task. One route is to deal away expensive players like David Price or Nathan Eovaldi—along with (perhaps) a Jackie Bradley, Jr. But, still, even the possibility of losing a player of Mookie's calibre is chilling at best. Particularly on a cold Winter morning.