Red Sox DFAing Derek Jeter-inspired piece of Mookie Betts trade gives Yankees fans joy

Now that the Boston Red Sox are about to enter their third season without that pesky superstar Mookie Betts on the roster, surely they’ve been able to spread the money they had ticketed for his extension around in expert fashion? And surely their current roster ranks way, way ahead of the Yankees’ 26-man squad, thanks to the trade haul they received for Betts?

And surely they still employ Xander Bogaerts, with a long-term extension for fellow super-stud Rafael Devers on the docket, too?

What’s that? They don’t? It doesn’t? And they haven’t? And they just DFA’d the top prospect they received in the Betts trade in order to make room for a Japanese outfielder everyone agrees they overpaid?!

Ah. Rats. Wow. Pretty rough stuff.

Anyhoo, the Betts trade is back in the spotlight thanks to the Red Sox slicing strikeout-prone former top prospect Jeter Downs off the 40-man roster on Thursday afternoon.

He’ll likely be traded — hey, maybe to the Yankees, the team his namesake played two decades for! You just know Boston braggarts were ready to lord “Jeter” over us for at least six or seven more years.

Nope. Couple of months.

Red Sox DFA Jeter Downs, Yankees fans are smiling

Curse of Mookie Betts continues! Such a shame. Downs could’ve definitely taken over at second this summer while Trevor Story took over short. Sounds like a foolproof middle infield!

Downs’ Sox career consisted of 39 at-bats in the big leagues, just six hits, a remarkable 21 strikeouts, and one home run — which, and this will not shock you, came against the Yankees and Gerrit Cole in the Bronx (in a 13-2 Yankee win, thank God). Yup. Even the worst Red Sox of all time have career days against the Bombers.

Downs was a well-regarded prospect at the time of the Betts trade, but Betts was a super duper star. He probably would’ve been the third piece in a five-player package, not the secondary headliner, if the Sox hadn’t attached David Price’s contract to the trade and lessened their own return.

That return looks more ghastly by the hour, with Thursday serving as the most prominent lowlight yet since the trade was consummated. Remember the Sox pulled Brusdar Graterol out of the deal? Didn’t want him!

Remember when Alex Cora called Verdugo out this offseason as someone who needed to work harder, prompting trade speculation?

Truly, this is the trade that keeps on giving. Shoutout to Boston for giving Yankee fans another landmark reminder during a sleepy period of the offseason. Rest assured, if the Yankees ever acquire a player named Garciaparra Jones (or Mike Yastrzemski!), they won’t fumble the bag this hard.