 So we'll get right to the big story is the Boston Red Sox trade Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers The Dodgers send Alex Verdugo an outfield lefty hitting outfielder to the Red Sox They send Kent up my Aida to the twins and the twins Send a hundred and three mile an hour reliever who throws a hundred and three miles an hour Ross who greater all is his name and The Red Sox get two controllable players neither one of them add up to Mookie Betts now obviously There's outrage in Boston Mookie Betts is one of the greatest players that the Red Sox farm system has ever produced He's 27 years old. He has won an MVP two years ago last year a little bit of a Drop from his MVP season, but he still finished eighth in the MVP voting and When Heimbloom was hired to be the GM of the Red Sox his marching orders Were get under the threshold Now the only way you get under the threshold Would be to get rid of Price's entire contract. So three years. I think he has 96 million dollars left and No one was gonna take that in its entirety So he had to piggyback him on to a great asset and The great asset that they did or used was Mookie Betts So people in Boston are very upset now Mookie Betts was due to earn 27 million dollars this year and they was gonna be free agent at the end of the season now the Red Sox It's been leaked out have offered Mookie Betts ten years 300 million dollars and he turned it down and The reports are that he came back at 420 million dollars for however many years So they were 120 million dollars apart now the Red Sox are very wealthy organization Their average ticket prices are the highest in baseball. They make a truckload of money They own Fenway Park They own Nessan, so they're doing quite quite well John Henry is a billionaire in his own right He's one of the major owners of the Red Sox But what I found out and I can't sit here and be a hypocrite and Destroy the Red Sox for wanting to get under the salary threshold When I certainly didn't do that when the Yankees spent a couple of years trying to get under the salary threshold Because all you have to do don't just look around sports Look the look around the world look in business little secret Rich people don't like paying taxes on anything Because if you look at the totality of what the Red Sox pull-in is an organization if they had not traded bets and they had not traded Price and they're picking up half a price of salary. Anyway, I Think they're they're they're taxed that they would have paid for being over the threshold was 12 million dollars chump change But there's a lot of things that come with Being over all the thresholds, which the Red Sox would be over and they've been over the threshold for the longest time They pay a lot of taxes You lose draft position You lose international signing bonus money You lose a lot of things that help you build up the system now One of the reasons that they got rid of Dave Dombrovsky Was he traded the future for the present and got himself a world series two years ago? And one of the reasons I believe that the Red Sox feel that they can do this Is because they've given their fans Three world titles very recently and a world's a world series title two years ago So John Henry made his money in analytics Not in sports analytics just analytics of the stock market He probably looked at this and said for the long term. We're not in good shape They also probably analytically looked at Mookie Betts and said 27 years old slight build He's already turned down 300 million, which was not a fair market offer They there's no way they were gonna get him for 30 million a year So I understand him turning that down makes him look like a bad guy But there's no way he was gonna take 30 million a year after what my trout got after what Garrett Cole got He just wasn't going to and they said He could break down might not be the same player This is the number the evaluation that we put on him and we're not gonna go over it and that's not gonna get it done So if they had tried to win this year and the way the Yankees are built would the Red Sox be better than the Yankees? Probably not so the way we're built now. Are we gonna win? No We're also probably not gonna resign this guy when he becomes a free agent So we'll offer him the qualifying offer, which will give us a a fifth round draft pick essentially Nothing that really moves the needle here. They got Alex Verdugo who's certainly not the top prospect for the Dodgers But he's one of the better young players in baseball and saw a lot of major league time last year And the kid greater all from the the twins who throws a hundred and three miles an hour There's debate on whether or not he's a starter or a reliever So I understand what the Red Sox did it does make them look cheap because the average Joe can't understand Why would a billionaire care about paying these taxes? But again rich people do everything in their power to avoid paying taxes They just do they have offshore companies. What if they don't want to pay taxes? They don't think it's fair to pay taxes All of us pay taxes really rich people don't pay as much taxes as that as you would think that they would So taxes bother them and he wanted to get under the threshold and also set his organization up for the future And that's why I brought a guy in from the Tampa Bay Rays Hime Bloom They're gonna build a mean lean team that's going to be competitive and not have to be over the threshold all the time now Here's the one variable Don When the Yankees were getting under the threshold They didn't lose any of their players to get under the threshold they chose not to pursue players They chose not to get a Justin Verlander. They chose not to go into the free agent market They went with their young players and the fact that their young players were so good It made them competitive and it didn't make them look as bad for going under the threshold But this would be like if the Yankees are trying to get under the threshold and they let Aaron judge get away This is a bad optic for the Red Sox Which is really hard for them to explain their fan base because Mookie Betts is the most popular Red Sox player and You let him go and in the fans mind you let him go simply for money I think it's a deeper dive that you have to make I think they let him go for the future They let him go to restock their form system They let him go to get better two years three years down the line rather than make what would be a long-shot attempt to win this year But also we don't know what's gonna happen to them this year because they're still investigating the 2018 team And they probably know what's gonna happen So there may be sanctions to come down that would have made it difficult for them to be able to compete now anyway Hind bloom is their general manager because they want to rebuild That's why the Mets didn't hire him because the Mets didn't want to rebuild But we've seen this act from the Red Sox before Where they strip it down only to come back and win. That's what kind of is I don't want to call it hypocritical But we talk about how cheap they want to be and they want to kind of get under But meanwhile if they go ahead and lose a hundred games this year They'll be panic and they'll probably spend a bunch of money to go out there and win in 2021 That's what happened in 2013, right? They bottomed out with Bobby Valentine in 2012. They regrouped. They won the championship in 2013 And they use the Dodgers to get rid of all that bad money with Adrian Gonzalez that big trade But you know whether it's going out and getting JD Martinez or whoever They will put themselves in a situation at the money. They're not spending now They may be forced to spend in 21 22 Because of how bad they'll be during the rebuild the Yankees have been able to hit the reset button and still be Competitive and as you said not get rid of any core players in the process They just stop pursuing them get underneath the threshold and then go back at it again The Red Sox strip it down to build it back up again It's almost a modern-day Florida Marlins if you remember where they win the championship then everybody goes when a championship game Everybody goes that's what the Red Sox could end up doing Michael. Yeah, they'll hit the reset button But don't you see them spending big money in a couple of years again anyway? That's what they've done. That's been their MO So I don't know exactly what's gonna happen in the future. I wasn't expecting them to be that competitive in 2020 Going into the season. I thought the red the Yankees biggest concern was gonna be the Tampa rays So this deal does not surprise me But what I do think it does is set up the Red Sox to possibly be a force in another couple of years And there's a lot of people that are angry at bats for being greedy and I just I don't think that's fair When you get this close to free agency you want to see what the open market is going to give you And I think it's gonna give them a lot more than 300 million dollars for 10 years So all of us the the average Joe's that actually go to the games and root for the teams We can't even fathom Turning down 30 million dollars a year But they're playing on a different level than we are that their mindset is different than our mindset is They are not married to that uniform you are as a fan and Mookie Betts is never ever articulated any displeasure about playing in Boston. He liked playing Boston didn't say there's no way I'm signing here. He wanted to be a free agent and he figured Mike trout got all that money and was two years away from free agency If I become a free agent This is not gonna be as good a free agent market as last year. I'm gonna be the one. I'm gonna be 28 years old I'm gonna be chased. I'm gonna be given a lot more money than 30 million dollars a year And he has every right to feel that way. I don't think anybody should be upset at Mookie Betts I understand Red Sox fans being upset at the Red Sox because they pay top dollar to go in there But I also understand the Red Sox thinking we're not winning with Mookie Betts We don't think that we're gonna be able to sign him. We don't value him at $420 million we have to draw a line in the analytic sand and although he's a great player We see that there could be some deterioration and this isn't like Kano leaving to go to Seattle Where he was leaving a great situation going to a bad situation because he wanted to get his 10-year contract Betts played it right. He's won a championship in Boston already All right Now he's got a chance to win in LA and then he gets his pick of teams as a free agent So it's not like he's going from a great situation to a bad situation just because he wants to get paid He's actually going in improving his chances to win a championship in LA and then he gets to be a free agent For the first time in his career and be able to pick the team he wants to play for at the money that he wants So why is that a bad thing? I understand a Red Sox fan being upset that he's gone But you don't think that he did the right thing for himself and for you from from a baseball standpoint and a financial standpoint This is the best of both worlds for him The only thing that really interests me about this particularly is where the fans land on it You know, just does anyone care anymore? You would think I know the Red Sox have had their their share of feasting Not a lot of famine these days in Boston, but I would still think you're a kid You know, you're 15 years old whatever you you're a Red Sox fan. Aren't you kind of in love with Mookie Betts? Yeah, isn't he really I mean and Andrew and I were discussing this does it still matter in baseball? I mean Harper left the Nationals Nationals go on to win the World Series Machado goes to San Diego they win 70 games. So maybe it's not everything I mean and as I said to Andrew you're even seeing Toronto right now in basketball You thought the whole thing was Kawhi Leonard they seem to be just as good So but I wonder if you're a fan and I know we have a lot of Red Sox fan in the city listening to the show Isn't there just a little bit of heartbreak because correct me if I'm wrong Michael Isn't Betts just the kind of guy you love to root for and have on your team popular Red Sox. He is kids Love him. He's got the perfect name that kids love Mookie and I'm telling you it's it's gonna be tough But again, I think it's a long-term thinking play by John Henry and the ownership It makes them look cheap because they've had a very slow off season And this also is a clarion call to every organization out there when you change management What you do is you change philosophy. So last year they have Dave Dombrovsky who was a spin-and-trade guy I'm gonna spend the money. I'm gonna try to win. I'll worry about tomorrow tomorrow So they inked Chris out to this ridiculous contract. What are they need Chris sale now for he's unmovable Nathan of Aldi who we're gonna talk to on Friday when we go to the Connecticut Cancer Foundation dinner at Mohegan Sun Why did you need Nathan of Aldi if you were going to hit reset? Why would you make those signings? And then they change over to a guy highly analytical who's not gonna spend the money that? That Dombrovsky spent and you could see that is a change of philosophy because John Henry Probably looks over the Yankees and see how they've transitioned now They still spend a lot of money and the Red Sox still will spend a lot of money But the Yankees are not gonna have a 300 million dollar payroll with a highly analytic for an office, but Chris sales 30 Nathan of Aldi's 29 right bets is your best everyday player and he's 25 27 27 I don't know it just seems backwards right wouldn't it seem like the person you'd probably stick to ride this thing out would be Mookie bets like they can't they can't trade those guys those guys are untradeable no matter with the money that they're being You know that they had to decide who do we piggyback on top of bets because they probably thought to themselves We can't sign bets we don't we are not now obviously they can afford anybody they want That's how rich they are But we don't value him at the number that he's gonna get on the free agent market So let's get rid of them and get more than a fifth round draft pick compensation and get a real good player in Verdugo and a great arm in great role. Well, let's just spin this out locally. Okay? The New York Yankees sit there as the best team in the American League One of their closest competitors the Boston Red Sox have hit the reset button The Rays don't have any money really to improve their team Baltimore's awful Toronto is getting better younger, but I don't think they're close yet. Twins are great All right, twins are great can't beat the Yankees on a bet Houston's great But they've just lost their manager and their best pitcher and their best pitcher. Oh And by the way a manager that I like but still has improved he can win big games in the postseason The Cleveland Indians are trying to trade their best player Although Terry said they're not on I know but that's all you hear okay So you're sitting the Yankees are in great shape. I mean the Yankees have their players They have the wherewithal and all of their competition competition has taken major hits or are at a major disadvantage I think the Rays are good I think the Rays are the second best team and they could be a threat to the Yankees But are they going to be able to add at the trading deadline? Are they going to be able to improve themselves other than through their farm system? The answer is no because they're not a big market team and Minnesota when push comes to shove is not a big market team and again until they show me What where the twins ever a threat? How many different players different managers different organizations different buildings have they had and then did they play the Yankees in a Big spot and cannot beat them. Where's the threat? Where's the threat in the American League Michael? Well, I think the Yankees are the best but anything can happen in a short series and the twins are very good And just because of their past history that they've never beaten them before the twins have gotten better After winning 100 games last year Josh Donaldson They their offense is really stout and they made their pitching better. They did now. Is that pitching great? No, we'll see better, but I think the angels of them right? It's still not a team of Jack Peterson last night to from the Dodgers It's still not a team in your division All right, and they still have a lot to prove that it's a team that is gonna be a big time threat to you In the postseason and the Yankees will have that home field advantage You'll be the best team in the American League and you're right anything can happen in a short series Especially a five-game series and who knows what happens in the world series because everybody thought the Astros are gonna win And the nationals took care of business and the Dodgers look like they could be a force But right now you're excited about the Yankees two years ago when they got Stan You're excited about the Yankees last year because they were coming off 100 win season You should be very really fired up right now Not that the Red Sox were a threat, but the Red Sox might go away here for a little while