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It has now been a few days since the Mookie Betts trade was actually first reported and we learned that the star outfielder, along with David Price, was heading out to Los Angeles with the Red Sox getting back outfielder Alex Verdugo and Brusdar Graterol. It was taking some time for the deal to get finalized, but that wasn’t totally unexpected given the large sum (about $46 million) of cash the Red Sox were sending out to the Dodgers.
And then we learned late Wednesday night that the deal was indeed on hold because of medical issues facing Brusdar Graterol. We aren’t entire sure what the specific issue is, but the word is that the Red Sox now see him as more of a reliever, which seems like bizarre reasoning given that was a public concern before the deal, but I won’t pretend to know enough about sports medicine to say it’s a bad-faith claim.
Either way, the news left us waiting all day Thursday for some sort of resolution, or even an update, but we didn’t get it until the evening rolled around. At that point, Jon Heyman jumped into the fray, saying it was no longer a sure thing this trade would get done at all.
Red Sox are said to be trying to reconfigure the part of the Betts 3-team deal with the Twins (meaning more than Graterol). While there’s still hope the mega deal gets done in some form, some involved are now suggesting it’s not a certainty.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 7, 2020
That seemed pretty wild given how far this had gone publicly, and while it wouldn’t be the end of the world for anybody to go back to their original team for camp at this point, it would be awkward. Ken Rosenthal stepped in next, saying talks were moving slowly and that the Dodgers could work to acquire another prospect to facilitate this deal.
Talks between #MNTwins and #RedSox to resolve differences over value of right-hander Brusdar Graterol going slowly, sources tell The Athletic. One alternative is for #Dodgers to acquire prospect from another club to help bridge gap. Story from earlier: https://t.co/ZtX8TdUGJ7
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 7, 2020
As awkward as it may be in Boston with Betts and Price, it would be even more awkward for Los Angeles and their fans after the excitement of landing the superstar, so they probably are more motivated than anyone to get this done. Mark Feinsand, finally, said this thing is still probably getting done. He reported they were making progress and it could be completed at some point today.
Source familiar with the three-way Boston/Los Angeles/Minnesota trade said the sides are “making progress,” and while a deal isn’t likely to be finalized any earlier than Friday, it’s still “more likely to happen than not.”
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 7, 2020
So, there you have it. We still have no idea how this deal will end up looking, but it’s unlikely it completely falls through. We’ll be keeping an eye out for more details as the day moves along.