The Dodgers do not have many financial commitments past the 2021 season and will surely have to spend money at that point to maintain their core and a roster capable of winning the World Series. The first step in doing that could be waiting it out in the sweepstakes for Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts and simply just signing him in the off-season.
Betts has not shown any interest in signing an extension with the Boston Red Sox and will likely enter free agency.
In a recent column for The Athletic, Andy McCullough states that he believes the Dodgers are the most well-positioned team to sign him in the winter of 2020-2021.
No team is better positioned to sign Mookie Betts next winter than the Dodgers. They were willing to set a record with their offer to Gerrit Cole. Are they willing to do what it takes to sign Betts? https://t.co/zg93nGikHI
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) January 10, 2020
McCullough says within the column, “when it comes to the free agency of Mookie Betts, the question is not about whether the Dodgers are willing to set a record. It is about if they will do what it takes to sign him.”
Betts is one of the best players in the sport and the Dodgers should do everything they can to lock him up long-term. It is unknown whether or not the best course of action would be to trade for Mookie Betts now, have him fall in love with Los Angeles, and re-sign or just wait until next winter.
Betts would be the ready-made leadoff man the Dodgers have been looking for.
As McCullough also notes throughout the article, the Dodgers are the only large market club to have such a small amount of money committed to the future.
They have the money for Mookie Betts, but will they pull the trigger? Recent history does not bode well for that proposition.
