WITH BETTS GONE, RED SOX FILL HOLES IN OF AND AT LEADOFF
FORT MYERS, FLA. (AP) » Win. Dance. Delete.
When the Boston Red Sox traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the eve of spring training, they broke up the “Killer B’s” who patrolled the Fenway outfield and led the team to a World Series championship in 2018.
Together, Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Andrew Benintendi formed one of the best outfields in baseball and became fan favorites by following spectacular catches with their choreographed “Win, Dance, Repeat” postgame celebrations. Now, as the Red Sox learn to live without Betts, his former fellow outfielders are figuring things out with their new partner, Alex Verdugo, who came to Boston in the trade that send the 2018 AL MVP and pitcher David Price to the Dodgers.
“It’s one of those things where you have to get to know the person and see him play, hands-on,” Bradley said this week. “Sometimes people just have that natural connection. It could be something that’s just seamless.
“As long as you’re able to talk,” he said. “That’s what communication’s all about. If you have great communication, then less bad things happen.”
Betts, Bradley and Benintendi were one of the best outfields in franchise history and the best homegrown trio since Jim Rice, Fred Lynn and Dwight Evans. All still in their
20s, fans pictured them robbing hitters of homers for years.
But with Betts earning $27 million this season and the Red Sox trying to shed salary, they traded him to the Dodgers along with David Price and half of the $96 million remaining on the 2012 AL Cy Young winner’s contract. In return, they got outfielder Alex Verdugo and two prospects.
Verdugo, 23, batted .294 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs last year before a back injury in August ended his season early. The Red Sox acknowledged this week that he might not be ready to open the season.