A fun fact about Mookie Betts that tends to get lost in our various logic spirals re: The Trade is that the Red Sox could have simply paid him a market rate to stay with the team and he might still be here. The Red Sox, preferring to deal in certainties, traded him instead to lock up younger players for cheaper years, but not until they put enough chatter out there that Betts really gave them no choice.
It’s still terrifying how many people believe it, but this is the price of being a certain type of fan: total commitment.