Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Add another zero between the decimal point and the 1 concerning the Giants’ divisional odds this season.
The Dodgers, already the class of the NL West and forever desperate for that elusive World Series title that has slipped away from them so often in the last decade, hope they have found their missing piece.
According to various reports, the Dodgers, Red Sox and Twins agreed on a trade Tuesday night that is sending Mookie Betts and David Price to Los Angeles. The other prospects, players and cash involved are still being sorted out, though well-regarded young outfielder Alex Verdugo is expected to be involved. Additionally, the Twins reportedly are receiving Kenta Maeda from the Dodgers, who are sending Joc Pederson to Boston.
As long as the details are hammered out and the physicals are passed — a significant if, especially for the oft-injured Price — the Dodgers have waited until February for their enormous offseason splash, acquiring one of the best players in baseball after sitting out so much of free agency. Along with Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Corey Seager, Gavin Lux, Justin Turner & Co., the Dodgers have the most fearsome lineup in the National League and have to be odds-on favorites to dethrone the Nationals for the pennant.
Meanwhile, according to a source, the Giants are hammering down a multiyear pact with Wilmer Flores. Not exactly the punch-counterpunch that some heavyweights exchange.
The Dodgers are mortgaging a dollop of their bright future for the rights for Betts for one year — he will make $27 million in his final season of arbitration (which the slashing Red Sox did not want to pay) and then hit the open market — to make a charge for the trophy that has been just out of their reach. They are expected to pursue Betts next offseason — as the Giants may, and plenty of other teams — but the Dodgers were not willing to wait for a season, having gone championship-less since 1988.
Perhaps this is better in the long run for the Giants, whose chief rivals just strengthened their present and hurt their future, as San Francisco loads up for their future. But in the near-term, any chances of a Giants surprise run this season seem to get longer by the day, especially in an offseason that has seen Arizona and San Diego bulk up.