Los Angeles Dodgers: The dream Corey Seager trade scenario
By Jason Reed
1. Trade for Mookie Betts
Mookie Betts is a free agent after this season and appears to be available on the trade market if the price is right as the Boston Red Sox do not appear to want to pay him the massive contract he is set to get.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, can afford to pay Betts. The Dodgers have an estimated $104 million in luxury tax space this season after arbitration estimates and that will go up even higher with the players that the team would trade in return.
With Justin Turner‘s contract expiring after 2020, as well as Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen‘s the year prior, the Dodgers have the long-term flexibility to pay internally and eternally.
The trade that it would likely take to get an MVP-caliber player such as Betts with an elite glove would be Corey Seager, Joc Pederson, Keibert Ruiz and Gerardo Carrillo.
In this deal, the Red Sox get an all-star in Seager that can either fill the void at second or more Xander Bogaerts to second, a slugging outfielder to replace Betts without long-term commitment, the third-ranked catching prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, and a young arm in the Dodgers system that can hit triple digits but is not too highly touted.
Betts’ estimated arbitration number this season is $27.7 million, which after trading Seager and Pederson, would only be an increase of $11 million, leaving plenty of room this year to make more moves.
And after this year, the Dodgers should look to extend Betts to one of these lifer contracts, something in the 10-year, $300 million range. It is a lot, but with financial flexibility in the future, the Dodgers can do it.