After a quiet offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers seem to have struck on a blockbuster trade, reportedly acquiring Mookie Betts and David Price from the Boston Red Sox as a part of a three-team deal involving the Minnesota Twins.
As a part of the trade, Alex Verdugo would head to Boston, and Kenta Maeda to Minnesota, with Twins pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol also going to the Red Sox. The trade has been held up for a couple of days now, and it was revealed the reason is the medical records of Graterol.
It’s caused the Red Sox to no longer believe the right-handed pitching prospect has upside to be a starter. This is not uncommon in baseball trades, and it seemed all parties involved remain confident that they would be able to get over this hurdle and still complete the deal.
Considering it is the Twins’ prospect who had issues with his medical, they are believed to be working with the Red Sox rather than the Dodgers needing to help find a solution, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe:
Initially, the Sox seemed to seek an additional prospect, but it’s possible the Sox could seek a different player (or players) to replace Graterol in the deal. As of Thursday night, the matter of the back end of the deal – specifically, the status of Graterol – was viewed as a matter between the Red Sox and Twins.
Another option if the Dodgers, Twins and Red Sox are not able to get matters sorted out is to seek out a different third team:
If the Twins and Red Sox can’t find common ground about how to respond to Boston’s medical concerns about Graterol, it’s possible the Sox and Dodgers could replace Graterol in the deal through direct negotiations, or that the teams could cut out the Twins and seek a different third team to round out the deal. Despite what one major league source characterized as the “moving parts” of the deal, sources from the Red Sox and Dodgers still believe that the framework of the trade isn’t in jeopardy.
L.A. would be acquiring a former MVP and CY Young award winner, so the Dodgers certainly have the most to lose if this deal falls through. Thus, it may be in their best interest to kick in a lower-level prospect if that’s what it will take to get it done. As such, one avenue believed to be a possibility is acquiring a prospect from another team to then divert to the Red Sox.
The Dodgers also reportedly agreed to another trade that would send Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to the L.A. Angels. That is being held up because of the Betts trade though, which makes it all the more difficult to imagine president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman will allow a secondary piece to undo a blockbuster deal.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events and more!
