A few weeks ago, I was watching a baseball game on TV. During the game, the play-by-play guy indicated that Mookie Betts is on the WAR leaderboard over the last few years with a chart shown on the screen. Indeed, Mookie Betts, who won the 2018 AL MVP award, is a great player. After seeing the WAR leaderboard, I began to think about a question.
Mookie Betts was traded to the Dodgers in 2020. It was a blockbuster trade, in the trade, the Dodgers acquired Mookie Betts, David Price and cash. At the same time, the Red Sox got Jeter Downs, Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong. Additionally, not so long before the 2020 season started, the Dodgers and Mookie Betts agreed to a long-term contract extension.
After seeing the WAR leaderboard, I began to think again whether the trade or the extension was a great decision. To understand a little bit more, I went to check on the great Fangraphs website.
Well, David Price isn’t pitching during the 2023 season. To make it easier, let’s just look at the batters.
Firstly, Mookie Betts already played 400+ games for the Dodgers from 2020 to 2023. He slashes .272/.360/.535 with 100 home runs and 241 RBI. At the same time, Alex Verdugo was a key player in the trade. Verdugo has played 400+ games for the Red Sox and collected 480 hits. By far, Verdugo is hitting .288/.346/.431 with 37 home runs and 190 RBI in the Red Sox uniform. Additionally, Connor Wong and Jeter Downs were top prospects, who were sent to the Red Sox. Connor Wong made his MLB debut in 2021 and by far, he hits .230/.295/.396 with 7 home runs and 28 RBI over 103 games with the Red Sox. Moreover, Jeter Downs made it into the big leagues last year. He only played 14 games for the Red Sox. Downs was DFAed by the Red Sox last December and was claimed by the Nationals. In the trade, Alex Verdugo actually has played more games for the Red Sox than Mookie Betts has played for the Dodgers. Meanwhile, Verdugo has more hits than Mookie does over these 4 seasons. However, Mookie Betts has crushed more home runs and collected more RBI than Verdugo has.
Finally, let’s take a look at advanced stats. Alex Verdugo’s strikeout rate is lower than Mookie Betts’ K%. Nonetheless, Mookie Betts has a walk rate over 10% in the Dodgers uniform. Additionally, Mookie Betts’ has a WAR over 17 with the Dodgers.
After 3 years, when we look back at this trade, Mookie Betts helped the Dodgers win the 2020 World Series and that’s probably the most memorable achievement thus far. Meanwhile, he has played very consistently for the Dodgers and has been selected to the All-Star game for 3 consecutive seasons. By far this season, Mookie Betts’ fWAR is 4.2, which now ranks third in the majors. The Dodgers did ink a long-term deal with a superstar. Additionally, if Mookie Betts continues playing like this, it’s highly possible that he will become a Hall of Famer. However, there’s a key thing. He has to stay healthy.
No comments:
Post a Comment