Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has developed a reputation for regularly looking one or two steps ahead when completing a trade. Such was the case Tuesday night when the Dodgers agreed to separate trades with the Boston Red Sox and L.A. Angels.
In the first deal, the Dodgers were poised to acquire Mookie Betts and David Price from the Red Sox, with Kenta Maeda going to the Minnesota Twins and Alex Verdugo heading to Boston. The three-team trade has since hit a snag as the Red Sox raised concern with the medicals of Twins pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol.
Nevertheless, there’s widespread confidence the trade will be completed — whether the Dodgers and Red Sox simply move forward themselves, or if a different third team is looped in.
But until that comes to fruition, the Dodgers’ trade of Joc Pederson, Ross Stripling and prospect Andy Pages to the Angels remains on hold. According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, that’s a source of frustration for Angels owner Arte Moreno:
Hear Angels owner Arte Moreno hasn’t been happy about having their big trade for Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling with the cross-freeway Dodgers on hold while the Mookie Betts mega deal is in limbo. Not sure who his ire is aimed at but people in the know say he’s quite upset.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 7, 2020
There initially was some belief the delay was related to Pederson’s arbitration hearing, though that was later corrected. Pederson lost the hearing to the Dodgers, and will draw a $7.75 million salary this season; he filed at $9.5 million.
The Dodgers’ trade with the Angels is believed to be a combination of financial motivation and looking to alleviate a forthcoming logjam in the outfield with Betts’ arrival. For the Angels, Pederson represents a replacement for Kole Calhoun, and Stripling is needed pitching.
The Dodgers reportedly will receive Luis Rengifo and one or two prospects from the Angels.
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