Prior to the start of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox that netted Mookie Betts and David Price.
The cost to acquire the former MVP and Cy Young Award winner was exorbitant as L.A. gave up two of their top prospects in Jeter Downs and Connor Wong, as well as outfielder Alex Verdugo, who was coming off a solid rookie campaign.
While Verdugo has been above-league average offensively in all three of his seasons with the Red Sox, the club has only advanced to the postseason once since making the trade.
Betts, meanwhile, has put up All-Star caliber numbers in all three of his seasons with the Dodgers, helping them advance to the postseason on each occasion and winning the World Series in 2020.
Verdugo believes his former team was already talented before acquiring Betts and opined the six-time All-Star makes them even better, via Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe:
“It’s the Dodgers, bro,” Verdugo said. “They already have a really good team. They already solidified most of their pieces. And you know, adding Mookie Betts just increases it. It only makes that team better. But when Mookie Betts is on the injured list they’re still winning ball games. But when he’s obviously healthy and back, it just takes them up, just takes them that step better.”
As Verdugo noted, the Dodgers arguably would still have one of the best rosters in baseball even if Betts wasn’t a part of it.
Betts had another productive season in 2022, batting .269/.340/.533 with 40 doubles, 82 RBI and a career-high 35 home runs over 142 games. Unfortunately, Betts was not immune to the Dodgers lineup collectively struggling in the postseason, which resulted in an early exit.
David Price reminded Mookie Betts ‘how good he is’
With Betts routinely posting video game-like numbers every season, it can be easy to take his production for granted.
Price, who has been teammates with Betts for parts of seven seasons, recently reminded him just how good he is.
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