I’m not writing this as a reaction to the Red Sox stinking it up to start the season. I could honestly care less about a 2-6 start to their 162 game season. But from Mookie’s perspective, why would you want to stay?
As much of a fan I am of Boston Sports, I wouldn’t mind if Mookie left. Mike Trout just got paid $426 million, which averages to about $35 million a year from 2021-2032. Mookie just won an MVP over Trout last year and had an amazing season, proving to be a star in this league. If he’s having all of this success in Boston, why would he leave?
If Mookie has a season like he did last year, or anywhere even close, he’d being deserving of money relatively close to Trout. But are the Red Sox willing to go all in? Or just trade him, like Nick mentioned in his Xander Bogaerts piece?
Mookie has already turned down an extension from the Sox (albeit after 2017), and it looks like he’s ready to test the market after the 2020 season. If I were him, I’d leave a high pressure market like this one and pull a Machado move. Go to a small market and play out the rest of your career in peace; not in front of Boston who kills you when you do one thing wrong.
He’s already won a championship in a sport that doesn’t overly value them. Trout is praised as the best player in the league, and he still hasn’t won a playoff game. Mookie has done all that, so why not live in luxury?
Hold My Drink 