MLB trade grades: Mookie Betts deal looks even worse thanks to Yankees

It's never easy to have to trade away a franchise superstar. But that's what the Boston Red Sox had to do after they were unable to get close to terms with outfielder Mookie Betts on a contract extension. So, they ultimately dealt him and starting pitcher David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2020 season in exchange for outfielder Alex Verdugo and prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong. Over three years later, two of those pieces are now gone, and with a rival.

This offseason, the New York Yankees acquired Alex Verdugo from the Red Sox in exchange for right-handed pitchers Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert, and Nicholas Judice. With that, Verdugo filled in one of two outfield spots the Yankees needed entering the 2024 season. But the Yankees weren't done there adding another piece of the Betts trade.

On Tuesday, the Yankees claimed Downs off waivers from the Washington Nationals. With that, he will likely fill out a depth role on the team entering spring training.

With the Yankees adding two pieces from the Red Sox's trade return for Betts, let's re-grade the infamous trade.

MLB trade grades: Re-grading the Mookie Betts trade with Red Sox and Dodgers

Dodgers trade grade: A

The Dodgers automatically get an A, considering they brought in one of the best players in all of baseball. Betts' impact was felt immediately for the Dodgers, as the team won their first World Series title since 1988 during the 60-game truncated season. Not to mention, Betts was a consistent National League MVP contender, including this past season, finishing runner-up to Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.

In his four seasons with the Dodgers, Betts recorded a .282 batting average, a .372 on-base percentage, a .539 slugging percentage, 113 home runs, 286 RBI, 383 runs, 520 hits, 335 strikeouts, and 243 walks in 1,841 at-bats (471 games).

As for Price, he played just 79 games for the Dodgers in two years (opted out during the 2020 season). Price recorded a 3.47 ERA, a 1.333 WHIP, 95 strikeouts, and 35 walks in 114.0 innings.

Sure, Price was part of the deal, but we're grading it solely on the acquisition of Betts.

Red Sox grade: D-

The Red Sox didn't find the equivalent return that makes up for the loss of production from Betts.

Verdugo was a good hitter for the Red Sox in his four seasons with the team, slashing .281/.338/.424 while recording 43 home runs, 206 RBI, 280 runs, 529 hits, 320 strikeouts, and 155 walks in 1,884 at-bats. But, Verdugo's stint was marred due to benchings from manager Alex Cora.

As for Downs, he was one of the top prospects the Red Sox got from the Dodgers farm system. The thing is, upon arriving in Boston, he was unable to crack the major league roster. He struggled at the plate in the minor leagues and received just a 12-game run during the 2022 season before being designated for assignment that winter.

Wong is the only part of the return remaining in Boston. After receiving short stints in the majors during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Wong received a lengthy stay in the majors this past campaign. In 126 games, Wong recorded a .235 batting average, a .288 on-base percentage, a .385 slugging percentage, nine home runs, 36 RBI, 55 runs, 87 hits, 134 strikeouts, and 22 walks in 371 at-bats. As a catcher, Wong recorded a .989 fielding percentage after recording 953 putouts, 45 assists, and 11 errors on 1,009 total chances.

While Verdugo was a good player for the Red Sox and Wong still has a chance to improve, it doesn't make up for trading away one of the league's top stars.