Although it began to appear as though it was in peril, the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers once again seem to be making progress toward completing a Mookie Betts trade.
The original agreement — a three-team trade — reached last week, called for the Dodgers to receive Betts, David Price and cash considerations. The Dodgers were trading Alex Verdugo to the Red Sox, who also were receiving pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol from the Minnesota Twins.
But whether due to legitimate concerns over Graterol’s medicals and his trajectory, or reaction to public criticism over the trade, the Red Sox sought additional compensation. Talks reached an impasse but as of Sunday morning were said to have gained traction.
However, rather than a three-team trade, it appears more likely the Dodgers will complete separate deals with the Twins and Red Sox. According to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, that would still entail Verugo being sent to the Red Sox, but now with one or two prospects:
If an agreement is reached, there’s a good chance that the Red Sox get Verdugo and an additional prospect or prospects, but as of now, the Sox are considered unlikely to end up with Graterol.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) February 9, 2020
As the Dodgers and Twins reportedly negotiate a trade, it’s possible L.A. will receive Graterol and more in exchange for Kenta Maeda. They conceivably could then flip one of those assets to Boston.
Or the Dodgers could take a piece from their agreed upon trade with the L.A. Angels. In that deal, Joc Pederson, Ross Stripling and Andy Pages were being sent to Anaheim for Luis Rengifo and one or two prospects.
The trade was secondary to what the Dodgers were working on with with the Red Sox and Twins, but there’s yet to be any indication it also will be revised.
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