Reports: Red Sox Discussing Possibility Of Mookie Trade With Padres

Please let this end up as a great, big nothing. ... I still refuse to entertain the thought of Betts not wearing a Red Sox uniform in 2021.

Dennis Lin, The Athletic:

In the latest sign of their ambitions, the Padres have discussed a trade centered around Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts, sources told The Athletic. ...

Recent talks between the teams have focused on sending a significant amount of prospect talent and outfielder Wil Myers to Boston, according to sources. Multiple people familiar with the discussions characterized an agreement as unlikely, and the industry consensus is that Betts will be in a Red Sox uniform on Opening Day. Yet both sides appear to have legitimate interest.

The Padres have sought for more than a year to move the remainder of Myers' contract, which will pay the underperforming outfielder $61 million over the next three seasons. Betts, over the last three seasons, has been worth more wins above replacement than any player other than Mike Trout, and even at a salary of $27 million, the 27-year-old is rightly considered a bargain. ...

For the Red Sox, adding multiple prospects from one of the game's top farm systems would boost their own sagging talent base — a base that might be further weakened if the team, presently under investigation for its role in baseball's sign-stealing scandal, is docked draft picks, as the Houston Astros were.

Meanwhile, exchanging Betts for Myers as part of the acquisition cost would at least help the Red Sox in their quest to get under the $208 million luxury-tax threshold. The Red Sox, who have yet to cut payroll, have about $230 million committed for 2020, including Betts' one-year, $27 million deal, a record for an arbitration-eligible player. The two sides reportedly spoke earlier in the offseason about swapping the contracts of Myers and veteran starter David Price, who is owed $96 million through 2022, but the Padres seemingly have limited interest in such a scenario. ...

Alex Speier, Globe:

There's no sign that such conversations at this point represent more than an exchange of ideas. But as of Thursday night, evaluators suggested that such talks were ongoing.

Under general manager A.J. Preller, the Padres have spent years building one of the deepest farm systems in the game. But after nine straight losing seasons, San Diego sees a chance to emerge as one of the better teams in the National League. ...

While the Padres discussed the possibility of acquiring a starting pitcher from the Red Sox earlier this offseason, the need to include Myers in a deal underscores that San Diego lacks the payroll space to consider an acquisition of both Betts and one of the Red Sox starters such as David Price and Nate Eovaldi. In all likelihood, if the Sox and Padres were to consummate a deal, it would see only Betts going to San Diego – meaning that the Sox would still have to make one or more additional moves in order to get below the luxury tax threshold.

Partly for that reason, some members of the industry expressed skepticism that the Padres and Red Sox will line up a deal. The Dodgers, by contrast, continue to look like a superior match in a potential Betts trade given both their superior financial resources (they have the financial bandwidth to trade for Betts and much of a Sox starter's contract, as well as a need for rotation reinforcements) and an excellent farm system. There is a broader question of the Red Sox' willingness to deal Betts prior to a 2020 season in which they intend to contend. Dealing Betts in the wake of last week's departure of Alex Cora could prove particularly ugly from a public relations standpoint. ...

So what might that mean in the case of a Padres trade for Betts? A look at the Padres' 40-man roster offers some possibilities. ...