Mookie Betts was willing to move to second base for Aaron Judge

Mookie Betts was willing to do anything to persuade Aaron Judge to comes to Los Angeles.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, that meant trading the outfield for second base to make room for the reigning American League MVP.

“Yes, that sounds probably like something I said,” Betts told Verducci. “But hey, that was going to be a tough get.” 

Judge ultimately stayed with the Yankees during the offseason, inking a gigantic nine-year $360 million deal in December.

It wouldn’t have been such a huge stretch for Betts, a six-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion and former Judge rival from his days with the Red Sox.

Betts was drafted by Boston in 2011 as a second baseman out of Nashville’s Overton High School.

He never directly spoke to Judge about potentially joining forces, though.

“No, I don’t do that,” Betts said. “I want guys to do whatever’s best for them and their families.”

In fact, with the Dodgers facing a potential infield crisis after Gavin Lux’s season-ending injury, Betts’s versatility seems likely to come in handy.

“It’s real,” L.A. manager Dave Roberts said of Betts’ likelihood of logging time at second. “The way I envision it, Mookie starts about 40 games at second base and 110 in the outfield.”

If Betts, the 2018 AL MVP, and Judge did end up on the same roster, it would have been quite the spectacle as the already stacked Dodgers would have added another big-contract player.

Betts is in the early years of a 12-year, $365 million contract — the second-wealthiest total deal in MLB — though Judge’s $40 million AAV is baseball third-most.

Betts, 30, and the Dodgers posted the best regular season record in the MLB in 2022 of 111-51, but the franchise was eliminated from the playoffs after falling to the San Diego Padres in the fourth round of the National League Division Series.