The Los Angeles Dodgers, gunning for their first World Series championship since 1988, have acquired Mookie Betts, one of the best players in the major leagues, and left-hander David Price from the Boston Red Sox, ESPN and The Associated Press report. As part of the deal, pending medial reviews, Boston is also sending the Dodgers an undisclosed amount of cash to help offset some of the $123 million owed to Betts and Price, the 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner who sat out part of last year with a wrist injury, in their contracts.
The deal will also reportedly give Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo to Boston and starting pitcher Kenta Maeda to the Minnesota Twins, who will ship pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol to the Red Sox in return. Betts was expected to leave Boston after the 2020 season as a free agent, but "the deal makes sense only in the complicated economics of baseball's collective bargaining tax, which penalizes a team for spending over a preset limit — $208 million for 2020," AP notes. The Red Sox are eager to dip below the threshold.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 29, 2025Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - my way or Norway, running orders, and more
-
5 tactically sound cartoons about the leaked Signal chatCartoons Artists take on the clown signal, baby steps, and more
-
Roast lamb shoulder with ginger and fresh turmeric recipeThe Week Recommends Succulent and tender and falls off the bone with ease
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pausesSpeed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocksSpeed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor dealSpeed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US SteelSpeed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battleSpeed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
