Asking Price that led to Arbitration
The Red Sox only offered $7.5 million, which was substantially lower than the $10.5 million that was asked for. This is Betts’s first year being eligible for arbitration, and he now has the largest first year case win in the MLB. Mookie has been part of the team for several years and definitely earned the $10.5 million. His agent put out the asking price this offseason, and it raised some eyebrows. The Sox put up $3 million less in rebuttal. The Red Sox eventually gave Mookie the $10.5 million and he won his arbitration hearing. There are problems that the Sox organization will now face when it comes to working with Mookie and his agent. This is going to be because the hearing had to happen so late in the offseason.
Trouble in Paradise due to Arbitration
The biggest problem is the length of time that it took to come to an agreement. Both Mookie and his agent have grown to love the city of Boston and the organization itself. The question being asked now is how long will Mookie stay in Boston? The organization only offered $7.5 million, which can cause Mookie to see that they were not interested in him enough to raise his salary. Going into an arbitration deal is never something that a player wants, but there are pros and cons to the hearing. If the organization only wanted to offer the $7.5 million, do they plan to keep Mookie in Boston? Through the arbitration, Mookie and his agent may feel as though the Sox are not as interested in the right fielder anymore.
Why did the Sox go into Arbitration?
The Red Sox still are trying to get a power hitter. Maybe the reason was that they did not know how much money they wanted to offer. With Mookie playing at the level he is, there was never talk of a trade, but there was also never a talk about a raise. The Red Sox organization has had there focus on obtaining a power hitter. Due to that, they have neglected current players or those who hold other positions. Mookie Betts was never in trade talk, but they also never discussed keeping him around for many years.
