Mookie Betts was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. Out of context, this is not a surprise; stars are traded often in baseball, and this isn’t the first time the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox have linked up for a blockbuster deal — and may not be the last, given that both Andrew Friedman and Chaim Bloom worked together for a number of years in Tampa.
But while the subtleties of a deal can make most stars-for-prospects trades look a little more palatable, the consequences of this three-team swap go deeper than just one club getting the better of another.