As a reward for being the MVP runner-up in the American League last year, the Boston Red Sox offered to give Mookie Betts a considerable raise -- 67.8 percent, to be exact -- from his $566,000 salary in 2016.

Sorry, Betts said, but that isn't enough.

And so, rather than agreeing with Betts on a one-year deal, as they did Thursday with 18 other prearbitration-eligible players, the Red Sox exercised their right to simply renew the 24-year-old right fielder's contract for $950,000.

AL MVP runner-up Mookie Betts will be paid $950,000 by the Red Sox in 2017. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

"We just couldn't come up with a number that he thought was the right number for him," Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters. "We didn't feel like there were any animosities involved. He just had a different number in mind than what we had."

It isn't clear how much Betts' agents were seeking, but the Red Sox's offer still represents the second-highest annual compensation for a player with less than three years of major league service. In 2014, the Los Angeles Angels agreed to a $1 million deal with Mike Trout after back-to-back runner-up MVP finishes.

Even though the Red Sox are giving Betts a big salary bump, a renewal is a less ideal resolution than an agreement. As such, it's reasonable to wonder whether not giving in to Betts' request this year will come back to bite the Red Sox when the time comes to begin discussing a multiyear extension.

Betts is eligible for salary arbitration next year and can't become a free agent until after the 2020 season, at which time he will be 28.

"It's one of those things where you kind of hope for the best," Betts told reporters before Thursday's exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

"It's a business side, and there's no animosity, there's nothing going on. They didn't let my hopes down or anything. Now we're just focused on baseball and we'll go from there."

Indeed, it will be worth watching where, exactly, the Red Sox and Betts go from here.