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Mookie Betts might end up never playing a game for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The deal between Major League Baseball and its players association, broken down here by The Post’s Joel Sherman, includes a provision that players will receive a full year of service time even if the entire 2020 season is canceled due to …
Mookie Betts might end up never playing a game for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The deal between Major League Baseball and its players association, broken down here by The Post’s Joel Sherman, includes a provision that players will receive a full year of service time even if the entire 2020 season is canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
That would mean the 2018 AL MVP would become a free agent without appearing in a game for the Dodgers, who traded outfielder Alex Verdugo, infield prospect Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong to the Boston Red Sox just before spring training began last month for Betts, former Cy Young Award winner David Price and cash.
The 27-year-old Betts, who had 29 homers with a .915 OPS last season, would head a free-agent class also featuring Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer, Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto and local pitchers James Paxton of the Yankees and Marcus Stroman of the Mets. Price still has two years remaining on the seven-year, $217 million contract he signed in December 2015.
Also included in the new deal between MLB and the union will be the provision that team owners must make a $170 million payment to 40-man roster players covering April and May during the suspension of the start of the season due to the coronavirus. There also is the possibility that the amateur draft will be reduced to as few as five rounds, with signing bonuses deferred for draftees and a cap of a $20,000 bonus for any non-drafted player who is signed.
