5:20 P.M. UPDATE
The trade saga involving the Twins, Dodgers and Red Sox appears to be over with multiple reports saying the blockbuster deal that was originally agreed upon Tuesday night has finally been solved, although Twins flame-throwing prospect Brusdar Graterol is going to the Dodgers, not the Red Sox, as was originally planned.
Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, here’s what each team gets (two separate trades):
- Twins: pitcher Kenta Maeda from the Dodgers, $10 million cash and an unnamed low-level minor leaguer.
- Dodgers: outfielder Mookie Betts, pitcher David Price, Twins’ 2020 compensatory Round B draft pick (#67 overall), and cash from Boston to pay for half of Price’s remaining salary.
- Red Sox: outfielder Alex Verdugo, shortstop Jeter Downs (prospect), and catcher Connor Wong (prospect).
The deals are final pending physicals, which was apparently the reason the original trade was held up after Boston was reportedly “spooked” by Graterol’s medical report.
The Dodgers, however, reportedly have no concerns about Graterol’s long-term viability.
It’s also worth noting that Maeda will start for the Twins whereas in Los Angeles he would’ve likely been moved to a bullpen role late in the season, as he was this past year, which eats into his chances to earn a lot of money through incentives.
Maeda has a $3M base salary through 2023, receives an annual roster bonus of $150K for making Opening Day roster and also can earn up to $6.5M annually in performance bonuses based on games started. Also gets $1M assignment bonus with each trade. https://t.co/YmAzZifaHm
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 9, 2020
Original story
The Minnesota Twins have been embroiled in negotiations throughout the past week as they try to get Kenta Maeda to Minnesota, but after drama intensified on Saturday, they may finally be steering toward a resolution.
After the Boston Red Sox scoffed at their return that included Brusdar Graterol, the Twins have opted to do a direct deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to acquire the right-hander and a report from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman suggests that Graterol could now be heading to L.A. instead of Boston as a result.
Twins now dealing directly with Dodgers and that part of mega deal seems pretty set, with Maeda still going to Minnesota and Graterol presumably going to LA. Dodgers are now mostly working with Red Sox to rejigger package for Betts. There’s certainly increased hope. #Mookie
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 9, 2020
In addition to Heyman’s report, La Velle E. Neal of the Star Tribune reported that the Twins added a prospect to the deal, but it wasn’t the top 10 prospect that Boston had been seeking earlier in the week. As a result, the Twins have now turned to the Dodgers to complete the Maeda portion of the deal and talks have resumed from there and the Twins may get an additional piece, but Neal warned that it would be more of a throw-in.
The baseball world has come to a halt since the initial agreement of a three-team deal involving the Red Sox, Dodgers and Twins was announced on Tuesday night. The deal, which would also send David Price and Mookie Betts to Los Angeles, was held up after the Red Sox were scared off by Graterol’s medical records and chaos has ensued since.
Graterol took the mound for his initial bullpen session of spring training on Saturday, but it appears his fate will be determined within the near future.
