Perhaps no player in baseball has seen their name come up more in trade rumors than Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts. The former MVP is still one of the best hitters in baseball, but Boston must face a financial decision.
Betts is set to make $27 million in 2020, his final year of arbitration. After that, the outfielder is set to hit the free agent market. With the Red Sox low on cash and embroiled in controversy, many have speculated that the team could move on from their superstar rather than extend him.
Multiple teams have been connected to Betts as he would be an incredible addition to any team in the league. However, a new report states that the San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox have an outline for a potential Betts deal.
According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres are willing to trade for Betts, but they want the Red Sox to take on more of Wil Myers’s salary. According to Acee’s sources, a potential Padres-Red Sox Betts trade would look like this:
San Diego Receives…
OF Mookie Betts
Boston Receives…
OF/1B Wil Myers
P Joey Lucchesi or Cal Quantrill
OF Manuel Margot or Josh Naylor
At least one prospect
Acee writes that the Red Sox are willing to eat about half of Myers’ $61 million salary, whereas the Padres would like to pay only about a quarter. The Padres are also concerned that Betts isn’t enough to turn them into contenders due to questions throughout their lineup and their pitching rotation. Furthermore, some inside the organization have questioned if Betts would even re-sign after the season.
All of that being said, Acee says that the Padres are serious about landing Betts, and the fact that they have an outline in place proves it. Whether a trade actually gets done is still a question, but who would actually be in the trade is essentially a fact.
Will Myers struggled mightily during the 2019 season. He hit just .239 despite posting 18 home runs, 53 RBI and 16 stolen bases. He struck out 168 times, the second-most of his career. His WAR dropped from 2.4 in 2018 to -0.3 in 2019. Heading into 2020, Myers doesn’t have a role on the Padres as the team acquired Trent Grisham to play right field and has Eric Hosmer entrenched at first base. Furthermore, he is under contract for at least the next three seasons at $20 million a year with a club option in 2023. Myers still has a ton of potential and is just 29, but his inclusion is more for contractual purposes than statistical ones.
Joey Lucchesi has been in the league for the past two seasons, starting 56 games and appearing in 293.2 innings. In that time, he has amassed an 18-19 record with a 4.14 ERA and a 303/99 K/BB ratio. Lucchesi has flashed at times, as his career 9.3 K/9 is impressive. However, he has been mostly inconsistent during his time in the bigs. That doesn’t mean he isn’t valuable. At just 26, he still has time to grow and was ranked as the Padres’ ninth-best prospect back in 2017. With the Red Sox, he would likely slot into the mid-to-back of the rotation.
Cal Quantrill made his MLB debut in 2019, appearing in 23 games and 103 innings. He struggled to a 6-8 record with a 5.16 ERA, although he did have a nice 89/28 K/BB ratio. Quantrill’s 7.8 K/9 is solid but has struggled with the long ball in 2019, allowing 15 home runs. Like Lucchesi, he is still young at just 24 years old. He ranked as the Padres’ 11th-best prospect as early as 2018. While his rookie season didn’t go as planned, Quantrill still possesses a ton of potential and could be of value to the Red Sox.
Manuel Margot hit .234 with 12 home runs, 37 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 2019. His stolen bases were a career-high, but his batting average was a career-low while he struck out 88 times for the second year in a row. Margot remained a solid fielder with a .992 fielding percentage. Margot has been inconsistent throughout his career and much of the buzz from his 2017 season has worn off. However, much like the pitchers, he is just 24 years old. The Red Sox could still value Margot as a developing player. Margot actually signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent before being traded to San Diego in a deal for closer Craig Kimbrel.
Josh Naylor made his MLB debut this past season, appearing in 94 games. He hit .249 with eight home runs and 32 RBI. His .315 OBP would’ve ranked top 50 in the National League had he qualified. Naylor is perhaps the biggest mystery of all known players involved. He can play both first base or outfield and has shown he can hit for power in the minors. He ranked as the Padres’ 15th-best prospect in 2018. Naylor is just 22, so the Red Sox could be getting a lot of potential with his bat.
At least one prospect is an incredibly vague term. So far, it has not been reported as to who the prospect involved could be, nor their caliber. The Padres have one of the stronger farm systems in the MLB, with four prospects inside MLB Pipeline’s newest top 100. However, it’s unknown if San Diego would have to include any of them to get a deal done. Looking further down their list, perhaps pitchers like Adrian Morejon or Michel Baz could make some sense.
There’s no indication that a deal is close to being finalized. However, Betts to San Diego would give the Friars another power bat while giving the Red Sox some salary relief. With an outline in place of what a deal would look like between the two teams, perhaps talks begin to ramp up in the coming days.
