Boston Red Sox

How much would an extension for Mookie Betts cost?

Mookie Betts could be in line for the MVP award, and a big payday. Globe Staff/Jim Davis

In 2008, the Red Sox recognized what they had in Dustin Pedroia. One year after he’d claimed Rookie of the Year honors and helped lead his team to a championship, he’d established himself as a team centerpiece in what was already an All-Star campaign by August.

The Red Sox saw a player around whom they wanted to build. Then-assistant GM Jed Hoyer met with Pedroia over breakfast that August to explore comparable long-term deals that might help to frame discussions.

“It was actually one of my favorite meetings with Dustin. He’s got the perfect amount of cockiness and self-confidence,” Hoyer recalled last week at the GM meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. “Some of the comparables I threw at him, he took offense to. We actually had a really animated breakfast.”

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