Michael Rasile 
How in the world could a lineup contain Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner and Mookie Betts? Only in LA do the stars align like this. Mookie Betts traded to Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox earlier this week and the fantasy baseball implications are huge. Betts is universally looked at as a top 5 player in baseball and he will slot nicely into the (even more) stacked lineup for the Dodgers. After leading the MLB in runs scored the last two years, Betts has a chance to do it for a third time which would put him in rarefied air. This has been done 12 times before, but most notably done by Babe Ruth twice; once with the streak starting in a Red Sox uniform which Betts can replicate.
The Red Sox ownership, Fenway Sports Group, is looking to get under baseball’s luxury tax that will hit them severely for being repeaters in spending over $208 million a year. Fenway Sports Group, currently valued at $6.6 billion, can save about $100 million over the next three years if they get below the luxury tax line this year. While Red Sox fans don’t want to hear it, the owners clearly didn’t think they had a shot to win this year so they think offloading David Price’s contract along with Mookie is the best way to win in the future.
Betts is presumed to be the leadoff batter which would put Max Muncy, Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, and Corey Seager behind him in the lineup. Injuries will happen, but I find it hard to believe all these sluggers will miss significant time. The Dodgers employeed a lineup that was lead off by Joc Pederson or Kike Hernandez 123 times, for the year they combined for a .322 OBP while Betts had .391 OBP, in apparently a down year considering he had a .438 OBP in his MVP season.
I think his addition will end up helping the rest of the Dodgers lineup more than it will affect his own statistics. With Raphael Devers breaking out, JD Martinez staying consistently great, and having Andrew Benintendi and Xander Bogaerts in the lineup, it’s not what’s behind him that would be the problem.
The projected 2020 LAD lineup will have two rookies in the 7 and 8 spot, Will Smith and Gavin Lux respectively, and have a pitcher hitting in the 9 spot. Jackie Bradley Jr. was downright bad last year, but even he is better in the 9 spot than a pitcher would. This should affect Betts’ RBI total for the year, but he has only put up about 80 each of the last two years so I don’t think it will drop too much further.
The fantasy implications of this trade will be felt in both Boston and Los Angeles. Mookie Betts will still be drafted in the first round, currently looking at a top 5 pick, but in a bigger park with no Green Monster I believe his batting average, and subsequently his OBP, has a chance to dip. I still think he’ll be at the top of the league in runs scored, but as I laid out before, I think his RBI will go down.
This trade should make players in the Dodgers lineup more appealing and players in the Red Sox lineup much less appealing. More RBI potential for guys like Bellinger, Turner, and Seager, with less for guys like JD Martinez, Devers, and Bogaerts. The season long 5×5 Roto leagues will feel this the most, this pushes Devers and Bogaerts to the bottom half of the 2nd tier of their respective positions. Cory Seager, ADP 136, and Justin Turner, ADP 156, should also be drafted above their current projections considering the opportunity to knock Betts in to score.
This also affects the DFS stacking opportunities. It may be expensive, but the thought of Bellinger, Betts, and Turner in a lineup against Colorado pitching in Colorado makes my mouth water in February. If their statistics are as good as the Dodgers hope, the stacks could become a little too expensive when looking at Bellinger and Betts, but it could make the bottom of the lineup more enticing. It also makes Red Sox stacks less likely without Mookie at the top of the order.
Mookie Betts is easily one of the best all around players in baseball and I think this trade will help him more than hurt him, and I think it will help the players around him in the lineup even more.
