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| - Mookie Betts, who hasn't played a regular-season game for the Los Angeles Dodgers, finalized terms Wednesday on a 12-year deal, the Major League Baseball club confirmed. The deal, reportedly worth up to $380 million, locks in a 27-year-old US rightfielder who figures to lead a talented young squad into title contention for the next decade. Betts played his first six MLB campaigns for Boston, helping the Red Sox capture the 2018 World Series title and earning American League Most Valuable Player honors and the AL batting title in the same season. Betts was traded to the Dodgers in February for the final year of his contract, but then pandemic delayed the planned March start of the MLB season and there were worries Betts might never play a regular-season game for the Dodgers if th season were wiped out. Instead, the new deal will include the 2020 season and provide Betts the second-biggest contract for any league player, trailing only the $426.5 million deal of Anaheim slugger Mike Trout. Betts is a four-time All-Star and a four-time Gold Glove winner for his fielding skills. The deal with Boston also brought left-handed pitcher David Price to the Dodgers in exchange for outfielder Alex Verdugo and prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong. The Dodgers also have reigning National League Most Valuable Player Cody Bellinger signed through 2023 and a talented lineup that is aiming for an eighth consecutive NL West division crown in a season cut to 60 games per club due to the pandemic, all games played at home stadiums without spectators. The Dodgers have not won the World Series since 1988 but reached the best-of-seven championship series in two of the past three seasons, losing to Houston in 2017 and Boston in 2018. js/rcw
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