Few were expecting the Boston Red Sox to trade Mookie Betts. Executive vice president and assistant general manager Brian O’Halloran didn’t see it coming either.
Alas, Betts and pitcher David Price are off to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trade that was made official Monday night.
O’Halloran, who’s entering his 18th season with the Red Sox, says he didn’t think about the possibility of trading Betts over the years, even as the years of control dwindled on Betts’ contract. During a press conference Monday in Fort Myers, Fla., O’Halloran offered a pretty simple explanation as to why.
“I think when you have a player the caliber of Mookie you’re not actively thinking about the moment that you might have to trade him,” O’Halloran said. “… But you also know that, with any player, as the years of control diminish, they’re different factors that come in to play and ultimately you might have to make the best decisions for the Red Sox to compete both in 2020 and the years beyond — the next five, 10 years — to put ourselves in the best position to sustain success. And so any decision you make, that’s the goal in mind. And in this case, that’s what we’re doing.”
The Red Sox kick off the regular season March 26.
