Dave Dombrowski nearly traded Mookie Betts to the Dodgers last season

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The Boston Red Sox sent Mookie Betts and David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers this past week, but could it have happened sooner?

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman revealed during a news conference Wednesday that he discussed a trade for Betts last July with Dave Dombrowski, according to Jorge Castillo of the LA Times.

Why didn't the trade happen, though? Friedman says the Red Sox stopped discussions with the Dodgers after they went on to win a number of games in a row.

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It was widely known that the Red Sox were looking for a trade partner on a Betts deal last season, but it certainly is interesting that they held off because of a win streak. They must've felt they could work out a contract extension with Betts during the offseason -- which we now know they couldn't because the offer of $300 million over 10 years was rejected by the right fielder and countered with a $420 million deal, and Boston refused to pay up.

The short win streak that kept Betts a member of the Red Sox turned out to be of no meaning for Boston, as they went 84-78 in 2019 and failed to make the playoffs after winning the World Series in 2018. Although he didn't deal Betts, Dombrowski was ultimately fired, and in turn, Chaim Bloom was chosen as their new chief of baseball operations in October. Bloom ultimately was the one who pulled the trigger on the Betts trade.

While the Red Sox did receive Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong in exchange for Betts and Price, there's no word on what Friedman was offering for the duo in July of 2019. Could it have been more? Possibly, especially considering the Dodgers extreme desire to bring a World Series title back to LA. Could it have been less? That's possible, too.

But, we'll probably never know the answer.

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