During the early stages of the offseason, Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts spoke of a desire to add elite talent to the organization.
Most anticipated that would amount to the Dodgers pursuing Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg in free agency. L.A. ultimately put their attention on Cole, who spurned them in favor of the New York Yankees.
Strasburg remained with the Washington Nationals, and Cole preferred the L.A. Angels. That brought the trade market into focus for the Dodgers, and reported talks with the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox.
More recently that boiled down to discussions for Mookie Betts and David Price. By Tuesday night, the Dodgers and Red Sox agreed to a deal that also involved the Minnesota Twins as a third team.
Ultimately it cost Joc Pederson, Kenta Maeda and Alex Verdugo, with the Dodgers receiving cash considerations in addition to Betts and Price, per ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel:
Sources tell me the deal is
LAD gets: Mookie Betts, David Price, cash from BOS
MIN gets: Kenya Maeda
BOS gets: Alex Verdugo, Brusdar GraterolSeparately, LAD trades Joc Pederson to LAA for Luis Rengifo
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) February 5, 2020
Maeda being traded to the Twins not only represents a new opportunity for him but netted the Dodgers a prospect in Brusdar Graterol, who was then redirected to Boston. That presumably allowed L.A. to avoid tapping into their farm system.
Friedman remained steadfast in his refusal to include Gavin Lux and Dustin May in trade talks over the past year.
Meanwhile, in moving Pederson — along with prospect Andy Pages and a yet-to-be-revealed starting pitcher — to the L.A. Angels, the Dodgers avoid a potential arbitration hearing and also clear up a logjam in their outfield. Moreover, Pederson is due to become a free agent after the 2020 season.
So too is Betts, but the Dodgers are believed to have interest in re-signing the former American League MVP. At minimum, by completing a trade prior to Opening Day, the Dodgers will be in position to extend Betts a qualifying offer and receive draft pick compensation if he departs in free agency.
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