Mookie Betts said he ‘absolutely’ would’ve stayed with Red Sox for deal Dodgers gave him

Betts eventually received a 12-year, $365 million extension with Los Angeles.

Mookie Betts takes batting practice a day before the 2022 MLB All-Star Game. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

July 19, 2022

On Monday, National League slugger Juan Soto won the 2022 Home Run Derby, defeating Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez in the final.

Tonight, the MLB All-Star Game gets underway at 8 p.m. Rafael Devers will start at third base and bat third in a stacked American League lineup.

Mookie Betts and the Red Sox: After spending the first six years of his career in Boston, Mookie Betts and the Red Sox were unable to overcome a contract dispute. Betts was traded to the Dodgers in early 2020.

Given that Betts won an MVP Award while with the Red Sox (in the same season, 2018, in which the team won the World Series), his departure was an eventful one.

Looking back, Betts has long maintained that he never had a problem playing in Boston.

So, if the Red Sox had offered a similar contract to the one that he eventually signed in Los Angeles — a 12-year, $365 million extension — would Betts have actually stayed?

The answer, according to a recent Betts interview with Christopher L. Gasper of the Boston Globe, is simple.

“Absolutely, I just didn’t get it,” Betts told Gasper. “That’s the argument. I didn’t get it, so that’s why I am where I am.”

The official offers that Betts received from the Red Sox have never been made fully publicly known. A pre-trade report in 2020 claimed that Boston offered Betts $300 million over 10 years, while the slugger wanted 12 years at $420 million.

Still, this is new territory for the conversation around Betts and the Red Sox in 2020.

After the trade to the Dodgers, Betts avoided directly answering the question of whether he would’ve been willing to stay with the Red Sox, saying only that it was a “very valid question” in July, 2020.

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Daily highlight: With the pressure on the line, Alec Morgan calmly scored from the penalty spot to give the U.S. a 1-0 win over Canada in the CONCACAF W Championship on Monday night.