A monster payday awaits Mookie Betts.
As it stands, Betts has one year of arbitration remaining before hitting the open market after the 2020 Major League Baseball season. The Red Sox star recently admitted his most likely scenario is to become a free agent next year, but is there any chance he signs an extension before then to stay in Boston?
While the chances of that happening probably aren’t very high, the 2018 American League MVP isn’t completely ruling it out.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Betts told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier on Thursday. “I wouldn’t say, ‘Nope, I’m just not going to sign a deal.’ That would be a lie. But there’s a value that’s there. I think I’m going to stick to my guns on the value. It’s not necessarily not signing a deal.”
Fellow MLB superstars have opted for different routes in the past month-plus. Both Manny Machado and Bryce Harper hit free agency this offseason and lingered on the open market longer than most expected before ultimately each landing lucrative deals. Mike Trout, on the other hand, chose to cement himself in Los Angeles this week by signing a record-breaking extension with the Angels.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, they have quite a few other household names to talk shop with other than Betts. The futures of Xander Bogaerts, Chris Sale and J.D. Martinez, to name a few, also remain uncertain.
