Tampa Bay Rays: Mookie Betts Traded Away From AL EAST

The Tampa Bay Rays’ division foes, the Boston Red Sox have dealt their biggest star. Is the AL East now a two-team race?

The Tampa Bay Rays can breathe a little easier tonight while the baseball world sifts through the details of the blockbuster trade. What we do know is that Mookie Betts and David Price are not going to be playing in Boston this year.

Details may change by the time I’m done writing this but I’ll provide you with the most updated details before we go.

Here’s what we know so far:

BREAKING: The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a deal with the Boston Red Sox that would send star outfielder Mookie Betts and starter David Price to the Dodgers, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Deal is pending medical reviews.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 5, 2020

Then a third team popped up.

Involvement of third team also possible in #RedSox-#Dodgers blockbuster, source tells The Athletic. Again: Betts and Price would go to Dodgers, Alex Verdugo and others to Boston.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 5, 2020

Alex Verdugo is going to Boston. As a Rays’ fan, I like the tradeoff. The Rays are in a position to win right now. The Red Sox are still a very talented team and Alex Verdugo is the centerpiece of this deal for a reason.

Verdugo is known around the league as a hitting machine. He was Baseball Prospectus’ 19th ranked prospect heading into last season.

Last season he slashed .294/392/475 with the Dodgers. He’s entering his age-24 season and is under team control until 2025.

He’s going to be a really good player for a really long time. He’s no Mookie Betts.

The Red Sox are also taking a pretty big hit in David Price. It’s evident they don’t think they can hang with the Rays in 2020… or I guess the Yankees. They are re-stocking for the future.

The Rays remain standing with three potential Cy Young candidates and a ton of starting pitching talent waiting to emerge.

They have a power-packed offense ready to improve upon last year’s 96-win total.

Prior to the trade, the Rays were predicted to finish ahead of the Red Sox in the standings. You have to think the gap has widened after this move.

Before we go, here’s an updated rundown of the players changing places so far:

Trade Information Thus Far:

Red Sox, Dodgers, and Twins in a three-way trade. Angels and Dodgers in a separate deal for Pederson.

Red Sox receiving: Alex Verdugo(LAD), Brusdar Graterol (MIN),

Dodgers receiving: David Price, Mookie Betts, Money from Boston Luis Rengifo (From Angels for Pederson)

Angels receiving: Joc Pederson (LAD)

Twins receiving: Kenta Maeda (LAD)

Final Standoff: Rays vs. St. Pete. dark. Next

I’m almost 100% certain there will be more to this trade. We’ll update you as we learn more.

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