Late on February 4th rumors started swirling that the Boston Red Sox had finally moved Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The deal supposedly also involved the Twins and in the deal Minnesota traded arguably their top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol to the Dodgers who then flipped him to the Red Sox.
The deal as I understand it, was outfielder Mookie Betts and LHP David Price going to the the Dodgers along with a suitcase full of money (from Boston to take Price off their hands) and the Dodgers would then send 23-year-old outfielder Alex Verdugo to Boston and RHP Kenta Maeda (soon to be 32) to the Twins.
The Twins giving up their top pitching prospect in Graterol at first blush didn’t make much sense but when all the smoke cleared, most Twins fans were OK with the deal. Granted Maeda will be 32 soon but he has put up good numbers in LA over the last three seasons. Maeda is 47-35 with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. There is a lot to like with Maeda who has a 9.9 SO/9 and he has given up fewer hits then innings pitched every season. Plus, his contract is very favorable at just $3.125 million base through 2023 with incentives based primarily on starts that can double his salary. The Dodgers used him primarily as a starter but had moved him to the bullpen late in the season (maybe to cut down on his starts) where he has also excelled. What I really like about Maeda too is that he wants to start and the Twins can use another solid starter for their rotation.
This all sounded good to most Twins fans until stories started circulating the next day that the Boston Red Sox said that there were concerns about Graterol’s medical history. The Twins had stated earlier this off-season that they planned to use Graterol in the bullpen because they didn’t think he could be a starter that goes 200 innings in a season. Baseball’s talking heads are now saying that the Red Sox want more than just Graterol. The entire three-team trade is now up in the air and as of this morning February 7 the trade is not official and the teams are still talking and I assume finger-pointing on who should do what. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out but in my humble opinion for what it is worth, the Twins should walk away if they are forced to up the ante. What a crazy off-season for baseball.
UPDATE on February 10th – The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda, catcher Jair Camargo and cash considerations from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Brusdar Graterol, outfielder Luke Raley and a Competitive Balance B Pick in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft.