February 6th, 2020 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka After enduring weeks of hype, hoopla, and fanfare, the Mookie-Betts-to-the-Dodgers trade is finally a done deal.
…and then it wasn’t.
Late Wednesday night it was being reported that what many are calling the biggest blockbuster trade in MLB history had hit a snag, much to the displeasure of numerous chest-pounding ‘I-had-it-first’ national media types.
The cause?
Of all things, there is apparently some concern over the medical report of the smallest of cogs in the mega-deal wheel – that of Minnesota Twins right-handed pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol, who is (was) basically a throw-in to the deal. The 21-year-old Calabozo, Venezuela native appeared in a grand total of 10 games for Minnesota in 2019 – all in relief – for a grand total of 9.2 innings pitched, a 1-1 record, and a 4.66 ERA. However, in his brief four-year professional career, Graterol has already had Tommy John surgery and missed two months last season due to “shoulder issues.”
As a result, the Betts trade, which included sending 34-year-old former AL Cy Young award winner David Price to the Dodgers, sending 23-year-old Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo to Boston, and sending 31-year-old Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda to Minnesota, is on hold – at least temporarily.
But the trickle-down effect of Wednesday night’s snag is far-reaching. Shortly after the Betts trade was reported on social media, it was also reported that the Dodgers had sent 27-year-old outfielder Joc Pederson and 30-year-old right-hander Ross Stripling to the Anaheim Angels of Anaheim in exchange for soon-to-be (on February 26) 23-year-old middle infielder Luís Rengifo. The Naguanagua, Venezuela native appeared in 108 games for the Angels in 2019, posting a rather pedestrian slash-line of .238/.321/.364/.685, with seven home runs and 33 RBI.
Although the Graterol issue has caused a delay in the two trades, it is believed that it can – and will – be quickly resolved.
“It’s a problem but one we can figure out,” a ‘source’ involved in the trade told ESPN’s Jeff Passan late Wednesday night.
Then again, we all know that ‘sources’ of chest-pounding ‘I-had-it-first’ national media types are occasionally very wrong.
Stay tuned…
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Sounds like a case of the Red Sox getting cold feet to me. There aren’t too many teams out there that can take on approximately $43M in salary ($27M $32M – $16M) and give them a player like Verdugo. It should still get done, but I don’t want to see Dodgers give them anything else.
Cannot agree more with the “cold feet” characterization. I would not be surprised to learn that Chaim Bloom leaded the information to Passan and Rosenthal to test baseball pundits and fans reaction. Once he heard that the Dodgers were the overwhelming winner of the deal he looked for, and found a reason to re-negotiate the package. How this mess is resolved will be interesting, but the Twins have another well regarded pitcher they could send to Boston — the Dodgers might throw a low level prospect to the Twins so they make that change.
Get r dun
The Dodgers and slugging infielder Max Muncy have agreed to a three-year, $26MM extension that contains a club option for a fourth season, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). The $26MM guarantee will cover all three of Muncy’s would-be arbitration seasons (2020-22), while the fourth-year option will give the Dodgers the chance to control a free-agent year for an additional $13.5MM (or take a $1.5MM buyout).
Dodgers truly are “Winning the Off-Season After All”. Great signing!
A terrific move by Friedman. Muncy more so than any of the other players going to arbitration was a concern for me.
Jesse, I concur as far as the Muncy deal goes. This way we avoid arbitration which can often lead to bitter tastes in everyone’s mouth. But that deal with the Angels, should it thus become official is one I am not too thrilled with as far as what Dodgers are to get in return…a no hit utility INF????
the scouting reports on Luis Rengifo are quite good, he is only 22 with one year of ML service behind him. And the reports had another prospect going to the Dodgers.
great indeed