BOSTON — Whether the Red Sox can keep Mookie Betts from testing free agency will be a hot topic until, well, he either hits free agency or agrees to a deal.
At the least, ownership has a continued, stated interest in locking him up long term, as would be expected with the American League MVP.
“He’s one of the great players of our generation," Tom Werner said Friday at Winter Weekend. "Obviously, if we have conversations, they will be private, but it’s our hope that he’ll be a Red Sox player for his whole baseball career."
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When asked about extensions generally, one thing Henry noted is that players appear more interested in reaching free agency rather than signing extensions earlier.
“Another thing in this free agency we’ve seen is that they’re used to be younger players signing long-term deals before they got to free agency,” Henry said. “But it seems like more and more players are going to free agency, and so you’re seeing less and less in the way of extensions.”
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