Why the Mookie Betts trade is making so many baseball fans angry

The only people who seem happy about the Boston Red Sox trading Mookie Betts are fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who now employ Betts, and New York Yankees fans because, well, you can figure that one out. But the trade has Red Sox ownership facing a backlash.

Betts, a charismatic five-tool outfielder, is considered one of the best players in the world. Naturally, that makes him an expensive ballplayer. He's only a year away from free agency and will command a significant amount on the open market, perhaps one of the largest contracts ever. The Red Sox didn't want to lose him for nothing, so they made a trade, netting a solid return from the Dodgers in the process.

Still, Boston is one of the wealthiest franchises in baseball, and their decision to trade their homegrown, 27-year-old former MVP to avoid paying the luxury tax is not sitting well with a lot of baseball fans, who they think should have just paid the man what he deserves. In other words, they think Boston ownership was being greedy.

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The Ringer's Michael Baumann argues it'd be understandable if Betts played for a small-market team that simply couldn't afford to keep him around, but the Red Sox don't fall into that category. Per Baumann, the Red Sox — who he deems a "de facto public institution" — rid themselves of a "once-in-a-generation player" all to save money that, in the grand scheme of Boston's operation, amounts to relatively little, adding to the narrative that MLB owners prioritize profit over everything else.