The Boston Red Sox entered this week’s winter meetings at a crossroads. By now it’s well known that the team is looking to slash payroll under its new leadership.
Rumors following a disastrous 2019 season concluded that former AL MVP Mookie Betts would be one of the big names to go. The 27-year-old outfielder is slated to earn an estimated $27.7 million in the final year of arbitration this coming season.
Even if Boston could take that hit in 2020, the likelihood of the team signing Betts long term is simply unrealistic.
In talking about his best player at the winter meetings in San Diego on Monday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora would not commit to Betts being on the Opening Day roster.
Cora was open about the process. He knows the situation at hand, and that new leadership might went to sell high on Betts.
The AL MVP back in 2018, Betts is coming off a pretty solid 2019 campaign that saw him hit .295 with 29 homers, 80 RBI and a .915 OPS.
We’ll see if Boston makes any headway in moving Betts as the winter meetings progress. As of right now, it seems like he’s on his way out of town.