The thing about the "Boston has money" piece is that like, the whole league has money! If anything this trade just shows that the difference between "big market" and "small market" teams is mostly about vibes
Yeah, I didn't really make this point well, but the key is that Boston has MORE money. They are one of the teams small markets worry about bidding against! In theory, it could make sense for a team like the Rays to say, "well, if we get into a bidding war with another team, we'll probably lose because we won't have as much money as them, so we should trade this player before he hits free agency." But Boston can't say that! The only team that could definitely outbid the Red Sox is the Yankees, who likely wouldn't be in on Betts anyway. The only reason for Boston to trade Betts is because they don't WANT to pay him.
The thing about the "Boston has money" piece is that like, the whole league has money! If anything this trade just shows that the difference between "big market" and "small market" teams is mostly about vibes
Yeah, I didn't really make this point well, but the key is that Boston has MORE money. They are one of the teams small markets worry about bidding against! In theory, it could make sense for a team like the Rays to say, "well, if we get into a bidding war with another team, we'll probably lose because we won't have as much money as them, so we should trade this player before he hits free agency." But Boston can't say that! The only team that could definitely outbid the Red Sox is the Yankees, who likely wouldn't be in on Betts anyway. The only reason for Boston to trade Betts is because they don't WANT to pay him.