UPDATE (11:44 A.M. ET): ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan has confirmed initial reporting from WEEI’s Lou Merloni and Barstool Sports’ Jared Carrabis that Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers are nearing a long-term contract extension. MLB Network reporter Mark Feinsand also confirmed the report.
The parameters that @LouMerloni first alluded to — a deal of 10 years — would be the sort to prompt Betts to forgo free agency. The devil will be in the details — the money, the structure of payments, how to proceed if fans cannot return in 2021 and other important issues.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 22, 2020
Mookie Betts and the Dodgers are closing in on an extension for at least 10 years and $350 million, per sources. @LouMerloni was on it first.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 22, 2020
ORIGINAL STORY: Mookie Betts long has maintained he wants to test free agency, but the 27-year-old might be on the verge of cancelling those plans.
WEEI radio host and former Boston Red Sox player Lou Merloni on Tuesday reported that Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers are nearing an agreement on a contract extension worth between $350 million and $400 million over 10 or more years.
Merloni directed the tweet at Barstool Sports writer Jared Carrabis, who seemingly confirmed the report in his own tweet, which contained some NSFW language.
Here’s Merloni’s report:
Sorry @Jared_Carrabis your dream scenario may come to an end within the next couple days, I’m told. Mookie will remain in LA for a very very long time. 10+ yrs for BIG $$. Between 350-400. @WEEI @OMFonWEEI
— Lou Merloni (@LouMerloni) July 22, 2020
Carrabis added this in a column published Tuesday morning:
I’m not going to tell you who to trust and who not to trust, but the second that Lou’s tweet went out I got two texts. Both from individuals who would know what’s going on here. I asked the first one if he thought this was legit. Got a “100%” as a response. Second individual seemed to believe it, too.
Neither Merloni nor Carrabis is a baseball reporter in the traditional sense. However, both have provided accurate, sourced information in recent years while covering the Red Sox (and Betts) extensively.
So, while their “reports” probably should be taken with grains of salt, they also should not be dismissed.
In a follow-up report, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman said Betts and the Dodgers have been engaged in contract discussions.
Have heard Betts and Dodgers have been talking. @LouMerloni suggests they are getting close on a mega deal. https://t.co/P3hQ14ZE9R
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 22, 2020
Betts, who is in the final year of his current deal, was traded to Los Angeles in February after six seasons with the Red Sox. The Nashville native is a lifetime .301 hitter with 139 home runs, 470 RBIs and 126 stolen bases.
A four-time All-Star, Betts has one MVP, four Gold Glove Awards, three Silver Slugger Awards and a World Series championship under his belt.
