Boston’s Mookie Betts trade (and 2022 offseason overall) looks so much worse after Jeter Downs DFA
The Red Sox continue to pretend they're a serious baseball team
Plenty of Boston Red Sox fans are just moving on from their grief over the franchise trading away superstar Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
Well, all of those fun feelings are resurfacing on Thursday because the Red Sox are back at it again.
Not only is Boston in the midst of an embarrassingly bad offseason, but the club just took Jeter Downs — one of the centerpiece prospects sent to them by the Dodgers in the Betts’ deal — and designated him for assignment.
The move clears the way for the Red Sox to add Masataka Yoshida to the 40-man roster after signing the Japanese outfielder to a five-year, $90 million deal earlier this month. It also signals just how much Boston bungled a Betts trade that never needed to happen in the first place.
You might remember the whole reason the Red Sox decided not to re-sign arguably the best homegrown product in team history was because Boston didn’t want to exceed MLB’s luxury tax. You may also remember the Red Sox are the third-most valuable franchise in baseball—making them one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world.
Finally, you may remember the Betts deal was initially held up because the Red Sox were unsure if they wanted hard-throwing pitcher Brusdar Graterol due to concerns over his medical records.
So the final trade to send Betts to Los Angeles looked like this:
Catching prospect Connor Wong is headed to the Boston Red Sox alongside outfielder Alex Verdugo and shortstop Jeter Downs in the trade that will send outfielder Mookie Betts, starter David Price and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers, sources tell ESPN. Players have been notified.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 9, 2020
Jeter Downs was part of first the big trade with the Dodgers for Puig, Wood, Kemp & Farmer — and then the Dodgers used him to get Mookie Betts https://t.co/ZVqlDDCD3A
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) December 15, 2022
Nearly three years later, Verdugo is the only everyday player for Boston to come out of that trade. He slashed .280/.328/.405 with 11 home runs last season. After posting a WAR of 3.0 in his age 23 season with the Dodgers, Verdugo has yet to reach that mark again with Boston. He finished with a WAR of 1.2 in 2022—the lowest of his career since becoming an everyday starter.
Downs played just 14 gamed for Boston this season, slashing .154/.171/.256 with one home run. Wong has played just 33 MLB games total since joining the club.
And Graterol. Well, uh, he’s done this:
Since 2020…
Brusdar Graterol: 103 games, 106.1 IP, 3.64 ERA, 1.100 WHIP, 83 Ks, 26 BBs
Jeter Downs: 14 games, .154 avg, .171 OBP, .256 SLG (slashed .193/.292/.368 in 180 AAA games)
Connor Wong: 33 games, .213/.290/.361
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) December 15, 2022
In the meantime, Betts and the Dodgers agreed on a 12-year, $365 million contract extension, won the 2020 World Series and continue to see the outfielder contend for MVP trophies.
Perhaps its no surprise that Boston finished dead last in the American League East (78-84) last year. The preseason over/under line on that team’s win total was 86. In 2023, oddsmakers think getting to 78 wins would an accomplishment in itself at the rate things are going.
You would think that Boston would’ve learned their lesson from the Betts debacle. You would be oh so wrong. It appears the only thing it learned was how to double down on horrible decisions.
The franchise didn’t even try to trade All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts. It just watched him sign an 11-year, $280 million deal to join the San Diego Padres instead.
Three calendar years ago, Mookie, Xander, Devers, JDM and Benny were all Red Sox.
Mookie
Verdugo/Wong/$$
Ownership is the reason Mookie and Xander are gone. The FO is the reason we have so little to show for it. pic.twitter.com/17xtzGwxLl
— Boston Sports Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) December 15, 2022
Make no mistake: the Red Sox are not missing out on the best players on accident. They are deliberately choosing not to spend money despite having more than the combined value of the Padres and Houston Astros.
It’s become a running joke in baseball that reports continue to link Boston to high-end free agents despite the fact the Red Sox continually fail to sign them.
I bet the Sox were a close 2nd though https://t.co/UVEQlXXv9V
— Steve Perrault (@Steve_Perrault) December 6, 2022
The good news is that Boston still has a number of highly-touted prospects in its farm system. Shortstop Marcelo Mayer is ranked No. 7 overall by MLB Pipeline. First baseman Triston Casas is No. 25 and utility-man Ceddanne Rafaela comes in at No. 96.
The bad news is even if these guys pan out, the Red Sox have given their fans zero reason to believe they’ll stick around longterm.
The even worse news is that when those players do inevitably leave, fans can’t trust their team to get a quality return.
If the best Boston could get for Mookie Betts was a declining Alex Verdugo and a handful of prospects that didn’t pan out, there’s no reason to trust anyone involved in the front office.
Maybe trading for a player named after your team’s biggest rival wasn’t the best omen to begin with.