5 teams who should enter the Mookie Betts sweepstakes

BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 29: Mookie Betts #50 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after hitting an RBI single during the third inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on September 29, 2019 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

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Mandatory Credit: Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images /

2. Chicago White Sox

The White Sox have been one of the most active teams this offseason, as they look to pay off their rebuild and make a legit push to the top of the AL Central.

Yasmani Grandal (free agency), Edwin Encarnacion (free agency) and Nomar Mazara (trade) will fortify the lineup, with Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez bolstering the starting rotation. Top prospects Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal are looming to take over in center field and at second base respectively.

Mazara is slated to play right field, so that isn’t an obvious need for the Pale Hose. But he’s making $5.56 million this year with another year of arbitration eligibility left. So a quick flip of him to Boston as part of a Betts trade can’t be disregarded as a possibility, as sudden as it may seem.

The White Sox can take on Betts’ salary for this year, and looking forward they can make a competitive extension offer without putting themselves in a bad payroll position. Beyond Robert and Madrigal the White Sox may lack the prospects required to really get Boston’s attention. But an effort to get Betts could still be made, to put a significant cap on an active offseason.

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