Obviously, the Los Angeles Dodgers emerged from the Winter Meetings still looking to acquire new players. While the Dodgers would like to make a move, carving one out for the sake of doing such doesn’t make sense.
The move must make sense from a personnel standpoint. Now, NBC Sports has some speculation about why the Dodgers talking to the Boston Red Sox about a trade may make sense. Indeed, a trade brokered by the Dodgers and Red Sox would probably involve not only Mookie Betts but also David Price. Check out this tweet by our own FRG:
This article opines that after hot stove flurry, the market could now be better for Mookie Betts… but at the cost of picking up David Price as well.
Sounds like every bit of a Friedman trade. While still not likely, it's an interesting concept. https://t.co/IfHeguTV0P
— Clint Pasillas (FRG) (@realFRG) December 17, 2019
Therefore, why might a trade with Boston be thing once again? NBC Sports has words on the subject.
The Dodgers saw firsthand what Price can do in big moments when he dominated them twice in the 2018 World Series, a performance that should’ve won him the MVP instead of Steve Pearce. Even more importantly, Price has a longstanding relationship with Friedman, who picked him No. 1 overall in the 2007 MLB Draft and then promoted him to the big leagues a year later, just in time to record key outs in the ALCS against the Red Sox en route to Tampa’s only World Series appearance.
As the writer notes, “multiple executives at the winter meetings connected the Dodgers to both Price and Betts.” This would be the same type of financial might kind of move that Los Angeles pulled earlier in the decade with Boston in the Adrian Gonzalez plus Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford (along with the Legend Nick Punto) trade. The Dodgers assumed a lot of financial burden to land a player they identified as a need for years in Gonzalez.
Now could Friedman take on the 3 years and $93M left for David Price to also get the 2018 AL MVP Betts in return?
The publication continues. Moreover, they believe that Friedman would see Price in a more favorable view then that of the Boston organization at the current time.
Friedman knew Price when he was considered a tremendous teammate, and before he committed a series of high-profile missteps in Boston that needn’t be rehashed here. It’s fair to say his view of the pitcher is more favorable than that of Boston fans, which makes Price a classic change-of-scenery candidate, presuming his surgically repaired wrist and iffy elbow can pass a physical at age 34.
Finally, this is never the fun part of the off-season. For the second winter in a row, fans are waiting for the Dodgers to do something. While they methodically navigate what is available on the open market and through trades, we just wait to see what is a logical fit for the return or dollar amount the player or organization wants.
We ask you, would you take on David Price if it meant acquiring Mookie Betts? And what would you offer? Let us know in the comments below.
