‘Can’t worry about the economics of the game right now’: What Mookie Betts said about his contract
"This is a great place to be, to spend your career here. That doesn't mean you sell yourself short."
Reports of Angels center fielder Mike Trout’s $430 million, 12-year contract extension Tuesday, the largest contract in North American sports history, were bound to direct questions Mookie Betts’s way.
Betts, 26, won the American League MVP, a Gold Glove at right field for the third season in a row, and his second Silver Slugger award for the 2018 season on top of leading the Red Sox to a World Series championship. He is signed to a one-year, $20 million deal for the 2019 season.
He remains arbitration-eligible in 2020, but he will hit free agency in 2021. Since Trout committed long-term to the Angels, Betts would be the star of the 2021 free agency class.
The Boston Globe‘s Pete Abraham reported Tuesday that multiple Red Sox executives have said they want to keep Betts with the Red Sox.
But what is Betts himself thinking?
The Globe‘s Alex Speier reported Wednesday Betts said recent extensions and contract signings around the league “don’t impact me that much.”
Mookie Betts says he loves it in Boston, would be a great place to spend his career, but recent extensions ‘don’t impact me that much.’ He wants what he feels is fair, and that he and the Sox have disagreed on what that is, but suggests that hasn’t hurt relationship w/team.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) March 20, 2019
Betts said the Red Sox have made extension offers he has turned down and, while the two sides have disagreed on his worth, it has not hurt his relationship with the team.
“I love it here in Boston,” Betts said. “It’s a great spot. I’ve definitely grown to love going up north in the cold… That doesn’t mean I want to sell myself short of my value.”
When asked what Betts values, he said, “Just being treated fairly.”
Speier reported Betts said he expects to start the 2019 season without a long-term deal with the Red Sox. Betts said he and the Red Sox share their interest and focus on winning another World Series now.
“Just going to go out and play,” Betts said. “Can’t worry about the economics of the game right now.”
Does Betts expect to enter this year without a long-term deal? ‘That’s exactly what I expect. I don’t expect anything to happen till I’m a free agent.’
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) March 20, 2019
According to Abraham, Betts said he remains open to continuing negotiations with the Red Sox, but again indicated he will not take a deal for what he feels is below his value.
https://twitter.com/PeteAbe/status/1108381140715487232
