Dodgers: Mookie Betts Could Go Into Free Agency Without Ever Playing in LA
Dodgers fans got a little bit of good news earlier today with the hopeful June start date, but now some bad news. Major League Baseball relented on the issue of service time with the players, paving the way for multiple players to enter free agency without playing a game 2020.
Including Mookie Betts.
2/Mookie Betts, JT Realmuto, James Paxton, Marcus Stroman would get a full year of service and be free agents. Someone like Francisco Lindor would get a full year and move from 2 years from free agency to 1 despite not playing in 2020. Why did MLB relent?
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) March 25, 2020
The player’s union pushed to make sure that regardless of whether or not games were played this year, players would receive credit for the year. For Mookie Betts, he is in his final year of team control before entering free agency. This decision would essentially make it so that Betts would not have to play a single game for the Dodgers if the league calls off the season.
It seems unlikely that the entire season would be called off, but anything is on the table at this point. Joel Sherman, an MLB Network Insider, gave his opinion on why MLB relented on the issue.
1.Think it is a bad look to be fighting over $/service now with country in such bad shape. 2. Are hopeful games will be played and this is a non-issue. 3. Without revenue this year, free agency is unlikely to be lucrative next year for anyone except maybe Betts/Realmuto
If games were called off and ff the Dodgers were to lose Mookie in free agency, that trade would suddenly look awful. Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs, and Connor Wong for essentially David Price and some cash. A trade that was widely regarded as being heavily in favor of the Dodgers would suddenly become a complete bust.
Dodgers fans have to be hoping that this wasn’t all for not. It still seems very unlikely that the league would completely call off the entire season, for what it’s worth. Betts had a limited showing in Spring Training after getting food poisoning early on in camp.
NEXT: Major League Baseball Has a Desired Start Month
I said it was a stupid trade when it was anounced!Now it’s starting to look worse.Right up there with worst stupid trades Pedro Martinez who went on to become best pitcher in baseball Piazza who became best hitting catcher in history of baseball both hall of famers.Paul Konerko future hall of fame.Duggie will become one of the best hitters in baseball You’ll see.
Lol
All you Dum dums who wanted this trade look as Dum as the people who inked it.
What happened to singing what you needed and keeping the future of the team together.
A Rental car with a Ferrari payment.
It was a stupid trade before this happened now it looks like Dodgers Lore on why Renting Doesn’t pay off.
The Dodgers should have splash and gotten a pitcher and a 3rd Baseman longer then 1 season. Been saying it since December.
It was not a stupid trade no matter how it turns out. It was not trading Martinez for Deshields or Piazza for Marlins’ spare parts. It was a trade that was needed to put the Dodgers over the WS hump and it didn’t really mortgage the future because the two things the Dodgers have plenty of are outfielders and catchers. Does a shortened season indicate bad luck for the Dodgers? Sure it does. Sometimes the only luck you have is bad. But if the Dodgers hoist a short-season WS flag, then it really doesn’t matter, does it?
Exactly rainbird, people who are satisfied with 33 yrs of losing view this as Stupid? What’s stupider, “Losing for 33 years straight, or signing the best lead off hitter in baseball? man that’s a tough one… Last time I checked the Dodgers haven’t won a Triple A championship since the 90’s either. So even the “Future” isn’t guaranteed by retaining all of your Triple A players…
I was never a proponent of trading for Betts (especially at such a high price and for so short a time). I think the Dodgers should continue *growing* their talent (it is awesome) and leave “The Big Names” on other teams alone.
This trade is almost as bad as Piazza to the Marlins for “spare parts”. I was just outside of the locker room the day Piazza was told he’d been traded, and when he came out for the scheduled interview, he was stunned. A lot of people wonder why he went into the HOF as a Met and not as a Dodger. As a Dodger fan I have always wished it had been the other way around…BUT I know how that trade went down, and Piazza considered he had been done dirty by the Dodgers. So going into the Hall as a Met was a quiet (but effective) way for him to speak his piece.
IF it turns out that Betts goes into FA without ever having played for the Dodgers, then that trade WILL surpass even Piazza’s, but through no one’s fault. Piazza had and probably always will have “issues” with LA, who treated him like a piece of meat.
And IF Baseball has a shortened season AND IF the Dodgers win a WS….then yes, it WILL matter…people will always complain !!!!
Maybe we can Latos back? LOL
Crazy things happen in baseball!!!! This just might be one of them. But then again, it was the Dodgers who gave up Aaron’s record breaking home run, and had a perfect game thrown at them by Larsen in 1956, and had too too many runners wearing Dodger Blue on third base at one time, etc. But we still love our team. Go Blue!!!
Way too many If in that question Bud.
Let’s pretend that that the season gets underway and the Dodgers actually make the world series even though or starting rotation is still suspect after Beauler.
BETTS playoff and world series stats are dismal at best… so he is the saviour in your story
Hahaha.
It’s not like we traded for the Future it was always going to be right now. We didn’t a dominant pitcher (needed) or a playoff performing player. We just crowded our outfield and rented a name so the Front Office can save face.
Wong is a stud and we traded a good outfielder for someone who isn’t going to be here long enough to make a difference.
The reason why no one has any faith in Betts staying and being signed a big payday is because this FO is a bunch of tight wads. By agreeing with the FO and they’re “Wait and See” approach of prospects, is the same mentality of “Wait another 33 years and see” B.S. drought. This layoff will be the best thing for this FO. They realize that without US, WE the fans, they don’t have a team or jobs . Maybe this will make them focus more on what the paying customer wants and deserves more so than their 800,000,000 million profit margin….
“This layoff will be the best thing for this FO. They realize that without US, WE the fans, they don’t have a team or jobs .”
Are you sure you like Millionaires Kirk? You just strike me as a big ole bundle of contradictions. Quite the complicated man. I like the the sound of this a bit better, “This general strike will be the best thing for these millionaires. They realize that without US, WE the workers, they don’t have corporations.”
Sweet Dreams, Annie
“Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.” – Yogi Berra
Annie get your gun, thanks for the reply. You sure are confused aren’t you? This is not a general strike, this is a pandemic that has shut down the baseball season so far, you need to wake up. I’ve been saying the same thing for a long time. If you had ever been on this site talking baseball with us instead of stalking me, you would know this. Quoting Dodger hater Yogi Berra is proof you are a Yankees fan. How bout this quote ” If God was a baseball fan, he’d like the Dodgers” Tommy Lasorda! …. You should watch the documentary Ken Burns baseball. You will see that Millionaires became millionaires and now billionaires in this sport BECAUSE Capitalism. They earned every dollar. The players are all millionaires, so you think they are slaves? You sure have a twisted pessimistic understanding of the world. Corporations supply millions of jobs, jobs supply freedom, jobs pay taxes to support all the charities. Without these corps and jobs people starve to death. Then there is NO LOVE……..
One last question for the night because I have to save the world and I don’t have much time…
Why are you more willing to advocate for yourself as a consumer than you are as a worker? I just can’t wrap myself around it…
The world is made for people who aren’t cursed with self-awareness.
-Annie Savoy
Because to everything, turn turn turn, there is a season turn turn turn, and a time to every purpose under heavan. A time to consume a time to work, a time to get stalked by a silly jerk… Lol’s wrap a paper around your doobie and you’ll get it…
Annie, and being my last comment to you is being moderated, shows me that you are not a fan….You are one of the authors of this site. A Socialist ….So I’ll say it again..Nice try but Bernie won’t even make the nomination….
If the front office had any brains at all, they would sign him again.
If Betts goes away maybe it will open door for the Wild Horse to come back to LA! I for one would love to see yasiel back inDodger Blue! So much fun to watch