Former New York Yankees righty Phil Hughes tore into the Boston Red Sox. How could a team that rich trade Mookie Betts and David Price?
On Tuesday night, the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Minnesota Twins announced a blockbuster deal. Mookie Betts and David Price are now heading for Los Angeles.
The Red Sox were finally able to creep below the luxury tax threshold. Salary dump moves don’t sit well with most baseball fans and it’s safe to add former Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes to the list.
Are the Red Sox a small market seller? Hate to see it
— Phil Hughes (@PJHughes45) February 5, 2020
Hughes just rubbed salt in the freshly opened wounds of Red Sox fans. They just lost two franchise cornerstones. Why would he do them dirty like that?
Maybe it has to do with the fact Hughes was a part of that Yankees-Red Sox rivalry for years. Maybe it has to do with his 5.04 career ERA against the Red Sox.
Whatever the case, it’s hard to argue against Hughes. The Red Sox have been one of the biggest spenders in baseball for years. Now, suddenly, they can’t afford Betts and Price, two faces of their franchise.
What’s the point of spending all that money if you won’t spend money on one of the best players in baseball. Betts is arguably the second-best player in the game. Only Mike Trout has more fWAR than Betts since his breakout 2015 campaign.
That’s not the kind of player a franchise lets go. That’s especially true when that franchise won’t be able to bring back equal value for a true superstar.
Any team that salary dumps a player with Betts’ talent deserves to be flamed to some extent. Who can blame Phil Hughes and Yankees fans for doing it?
This kind of trade is everything that’s wrong with modern baseball—putting payroll in front of winning games.
