What once was a three-team trade between the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins eventually was separated into two deals as a solution to overcoming the impasse talks reached.
In the end the Dodgers not only traded for Mookie Betts and David Price, but also Brusdar Graterol, who initially was bound for Boston. L.A. did have to surrender additional prospects to the Red Sox — packaging Jeter Downs and Connor Wong — with previously agreed upon Alex Verdugo.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers also reunited with Luke Raley and received a pick in the 2020 MLB Draft as part of their trade with the Twins. Of course, that’s all secondary to adding Betts and Price to a roster that won a franchise-record 106 games last year.
In a survey of opinions across the sport, an evaluator and manager lauded the Dodgers for their trades, per ESPN’s Buster Olney:
An NL evaluator: “A healthy Graterol would’ve made it a better deal, but a healthy Graterol doesn’t get traded for Kenta Maeda. I thought the Red Sox did well for one year of Betts. Still, the Dodgers get one of the five best players and an inside track to sign him, while dealing expendable pieces.”
A manager: “It was pretty solid both ways. The Dodgers are clearly trying to win this year. Boston seems like it’s in a rebuild. The Dodgers gave up a good prospect in Downs but ended up with Graterol in their other trade with the Twins. L.A. continues to keep a wealth of prospects in their system even with all of their moves. The health of David Price is the one thing that scares me.”
The Red Sox also received praise for rebounding from talks falling apart:
High-ranking official: “Boston did really well. I don’t think anyone else was giving them that prospect value plus taking on all that money in David Price’s contract.”
The trades will ultimately be evaluated in the years to come, but for the Dodgers, winning a World Series in 2020 would immediately deem it a success. The same could also be said for the Twins, who were aggressive this offseason.
Conversely, how it pans out for the Red Sox won’t be known until Verdugo, Downs and Wong are further along in their careers.
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