Honestly, the way the reports were trending yesterday, I expected we were going to hear about a deal being finalized for Mookie Betts last night.
That didn’t happen, but it still sounds like it is coming. Ken Rosenthal doesn’t say things like this unless he knows:
"This is going to happen, Mookie Betts is getting traded. The only question is when and where." – @Ken_Rosenthal #MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/417CDtLOa3
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 3, 2020
Multiple people close to situation believe resolution on Mookie Betts trade is imminent. (Perspective: some of same people believed similarly last week.) FWIW, feeling now is it happens today/tomorrow.
If favorite exists, it seems to be #Dodgers. But #Padres still engaged.— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) February 3, 2020
If it’s down to only the Padres and Dodgers, and if it’s known that Betts is going to be dealt, the trade will happen when one of the two teams finally puts up a roadblock for the Red Sox and says they simply will not negotiate any further (because until then, the Red Sox would wisely just keep pitting the NL West rivals against each other to slightly up the ante).
Consider yourself on high(er) alert for a Betts deal today, which will be fascinating to deconstruct for its own reasons, but then also for its impact on the NL races. And then, of course, to see if there are any subsequent trade talks involving another star player potentially on the block in Chicago.