The Boston Red Sox didn’t want to pay Mookie Betts what he was worth, and so they traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trade that has aged incredibly poorly for the Red Sox.
Did they learn their lesson?
Clearly not.
They just traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday night for, well, nothing exciting. A couple mediocre MLB pitchers and two middling prospects, just so the Giants will pay Devers to be a superstar slugger instead?
In all seriousness, teams don’t get players like Betts or Devers very often.
MORE: Why the Red Sox traded away Rafael Devers
There are MLB teams right now that haven’t had a guy as good as either of them in the last two decades.
Boston had them both at once, with some overlap with former phenom Xander Bogaerts, who they let leave for the Padres in free agency.
MORE: This is the biggest trade in San Francisco Giants history
The Red Sox won a World Series before the band broke up, too. But then letting people get away backfired, as usual.
There’s very little chance of repurposing the money in a way that is more effective than simply giving it to a superstar.
MORE: Yankees are biggest winners of Rafael Devers trade
Even now, an aging Betts is a star in L.A. He’ll get to play against Devers and Bogaerts plenty for the next few years at least while they all reside in the NL West.
The West Coast is a long way from Boston, but somehow, the Red Sox’s three most important players in recent times are all calling California home now. It’s not a good look for Boston’s decision-making at all.
MORE: Red Sox just repeated the Luka Doncic trade
