Los Angeles won’t be just a pit stop for Mookie Betts.
Betts and the Dodgers on Wednesday agreed to a massive contract extension, which will keep the superstar outfielder in LA through the 2032 Major League Baseball season. The new deal came as a surprise to some, as Betts long had seemed motivated to test the open market for the first time in his big league career.
Some also perceived Betts’ new deal with the Dodgers as a sign that the four-time All-Star didn’t enjoy his time in Boston. Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke, who’s been on Boston’s coaching staff since the start of the 2018 season, has no time for that narrative.
“No question he enjoyed his time here,” Roenicke said via Zoom on Wednesday. “You can’t come to the ballpark every day in the mood he was in if he didn’t really like it here. Every day I saw him, I don’t remember seeing him ever down. He was always in a great mood. He’d get down sometimes during the game when he wouldn’t get hits and wouldn’t perform the way he wanted to. But every day I saw him here, he was always pretty much in a good mood.”
As for why Betts ultimately elected to forego free agency, the 2018 American League MVP believes he found “fair value” in his new extension with the Dodgers. Betts side-stepped when asked if he would have signed the same deal with the Red Sox.
