The Boston Red Sox made a big roster move on Thursday that involved a player in the ill-fated Mookie Betts trade.
Boston designated shortstop Jeter Downs for assignment. Downs had struggled mightily at the Major League level in 2022 and couldn’t quite piece it together. Chris Cotillo reported on the roster move by the Red Sox on Thursday.
Cotillo tweeted the news, simple as can be, “Red Sox have designated Jeter Downs for assignment.”
Red Sox have designated Jeter Downs for assignment.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) December 15, 2022
In 14 games at the Major League level, Downs hit .154/.171/.256. His career highlight will be in a game against the hated New York Yankees. Jeter clobbered a home run at Yankee Stadium, which wasn’t something you could say about the Boston team until then at least.
Downs was involved in two major trades in his career. In 2018, the Cincinnati Reds traded Downs and others to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for stars Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig. Then, Downs, along with Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong was involved in the infamous Mookie Betts trade. The Red Sox acquired Downs, Verdugo, and Wong for the sensational Betts, David Price, and cash considerations.
Since then, only Alex Verdugo has starred at the Major League level. And even then, Verdugo pales in comparison to the productivity and superstardom Mookie Betts brings to the table. So, that trade has descended into complete disaster territory for the Red Sox, unfortunately.
Many in Boston and the MLB world reacted to the news by bringing that trade up.
https://twitter.com/Ryan_Spags/status/1603477073594437632
The Betts trade continues to look disastrous for Boston. https://t.co/kU0fIbJBms
— Dayn Perry (@daynperry) December 15, 2022
Credit to the Red Sox for admitting it wasn't working and moving on rather than trying to force it, but goodness, what an all-time stinker of a trade. https://t.co/5d0dJRdBHj
— Mike Axisa (@mikeaxisa) December 15, 2022
Didn’t think the Mookie Betts trade could look worse but here we are! https://t.co/Tsav1oBeq9
— Andrew Battifarano (@AndrewAtBatt) December 15, 2022
That Mookie Betts trade is awful. It was terrible right when it happened and it’s still terrible to this day.
— Randy Wilkins (@pamsson) December 15, 2022
Alex Verdugo has been ever so slightly above average too. Mookie Betts is the Mona Lisa of Andrew Friedman fleece jobs. Dodgers have proven that they'll pull the trigger on the right blockbuster trade. https://t.co/8fwK69OgHe
— Doug McKain (@DMAC_LA) December 15, 2022
