Dodgers Rumors: Mookie Betts trade more likely than a Lindor deal

The Dodgers have been connected to Mookie Betts and Francisco Lindor nearly all winter.  Is a deal for Betts more likely than a trade for Lindor?

The Dodgers have been big game hunting all off-season but they have yet to make a blockbuster trade after striking out in the Gerrit Cole sweepstakes.  Two stars that the Dodgers have been connected to for the entire off-season are Mookie Betts and Francisco Lindor.  While a trade for Lindor once seemed to be the likely blockbuster deal for the Dodgers, that appears to be changing.

According to Jon Paul Morosi, sources are telling him that the Dodgers have been talking to the Red Sox about a potential Mookie Betts trade as often as they have talked to the Indians about a possible Francisco Lindor deal.  There are several reasons why a Betts deal makes more sense for the Dodgers than a Lindor trade.

The first is that the Red Sox are looking to slash payroll and in addition to Mookie Betts who is projected to earn around $26 million in arbitration, Boston could also unload David Price in a potential trade with the Dodgers.  Price is owed $96 million over the next three seasons and the Dodgers are one of the few teams that could take on that kind of salary commitment.

Add in the fact that Andrew Friedman and Chaim Bloom (Red Sox GM) worked together in Tampa Bay and there is good reason to believe that the two front offices could work together to pull off a blockbuster trade.  David Price was also drafted by Andrew Friedman so that is one more Tampa Bay connection to add to the mix.

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One reason that a trade for Francisco Lindor remains unlikely for LA is that the Indians continue to demand Gavin Lux according to Morosi.  The Dodgers are unwilling to part with Lux and in a trade, for Betts and Price, the Dodgers would not need to include him or Dustin May.  Taking on Price would lower the prospect cost for LA especially when you consider that Betts is in his final season before free agency and he is going to test the market.

Unless the Indians lower their demands for Francisco Lindor it’s starting to look like Mookie Betts is the favorite if the Dodgers are going to land a star this off-season.  After losing Hyun-Jin Ryu, the Dodgers could use another innings eater so David Price would actually fit a need for the Dodgers as well.

There are only forty days until pitchers and catchers report for the Dodgers so if a big move is going to be made, it will likely happen this month.  After an off-season of seeing multiple players depart, the Dodgers could be poised to finally make their big splash this month.