Red Sox fans may have to watch one former Boston outfielder manage a team starring another former Boston outfielder to a World Series victory.
Dave Roberts' Los Angeles Dodgers are one win away from a championship after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in Sunday night's Game 5.
A big reason why they're on the doorstep of a title is right fielder Mookie Betts, who has lived up to his All-Star expectations after the Red Sox traded him to Los Angeles this winter.
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Tomase: Sorry, Red Sox fans: Trading Betts was still the right move
Many believe the Dodgers got the sweeter end of that deal, which sent Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong to Boston but gave Los Angeles a transcendent talent who perhaps could get them over the championship hump.
Roberts agrees with that assessment.
"We got a steal," the Dodgers manager said of the Betts trade Monday, via Dodgers Nation on Twitter.
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Roberts knows all about impactful steals, as he executed one of the most famous stolen bases in Red Sox history in Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series.
The rest was history for Boston after Roberts' swipe, and Roberts and Betts can make history bringing the Dodgers their first championship since 1988.
But Betts' work won't be over after this season -- he's signed with L.A. on a 12-year contract through 2032 -- and Roberts believes the 28-year-old will benefit the organization for years to come.
"I'm just so grateful that the deal was done because it's not just going to help us this year," Roberts added. "... It's going to impact players not even drafted by the Dodgers yet."
Roberts' optimism has to sting for Red Sox fans wondering "what if?" after the team traded away its best player this offseason. And if the Dodgers win Game 6 on Tuesday night, it will be hard not to agree that L.A. got the better side of this deal -- in the short term, at least.