Jim Bowden of THE ATHLETIC said this about the Dodgers trade for Mookie Betts and David Price:
“The Dodgers made one of the most lopsided trades for a superstar player in baseball history. They gave up only two players from their major-league roster and zero prospects from their farm system to land one of the top five position players in the game in Mookie Betts along with veteran starter David Price, and also got the Red Sox to pay a significant chunk of Price’s salary.”
Boston Media is crucifying the Red Sox and John Henry (Red Sox Owner) who is a very, very egotistical man (to say nothing of being a moron), and they are feeling the heat. The Boston Herald is calling for the Red Sox to rescind the deal. Heres what the Boston Herald said:
The trade is on hold, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, because after viewing the medical reports of Twins beefy right-handed pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol, the Red Sox “viewed him more as a reliever than a starter” and therefore “might ask for an additional player and/or money to bridge the gap.”
In other words, Graterol is damaged goods. Better idea than asking for another player or more money to go toward David Price’s contract: Call the whole thing off. Now. And don’t look back. View this as a gift from the heavens and keep Mookie in a Red Sox uniform for as long as possible, preferably for the next 10 years.
If that is what the Scumbag John Henry and the Red Sox are doing, then John Henry and Chiam Bloom and whoever else is involved need to go the way of Alex Cora and get a job outside of baseball. This is bullcrap. Everyone in the free world knows that Greaterol has arm and shoulder issues. Even Ray Charles can see it.
You can’t rescind or renege on a deal at the final second… just because of public outrage. Stick to your word… unless you are damn liars! Well, it has been established that evidently the Red Sox are liars and cheaters! They obviously cannot be trusted.
It appears to me that if this is nor resolved RIGHT NOW, both the Red Sox and Angels deals are about to totally unravel. It’s not the end of the world, but it is ugly. Can Manfred get involved? I doubt it. If I were Andrew Friedman, I would give Bloom until Noon EDT to work it out or the trades are rescinded.
Never trust cheaters! I have I am wrong… but this smells bad! Very bad!
Whether or not this mess gets resolved (and I think it will) dealing with the Red Sox should come with a MLB approved warning: “Caution: you are about to interact with an organization that is without integrity, and embraces cheating. Do so at your peril of bad faith negotiations.” I think this will get worked out, the combination of deals for the Dodgers are too good to let them blowup at this point. The most direct is for the Dodgers to take Graterol (who could turnout to be an awesome reliever) and send a pitcher like Michael Grove, or Edwin Uceta (perhaps even adding Jordan Sheffield) to Boston. Or, the Dodgers could even send Grove to Boston and let them keep Graterol. I don’t like letting Bloom win by cheating, but the Dodgers need to consider the big picture and get this deal, along with those with Twins and Angels.
I think Boston would ask for a Dodger pitcher in the TOP 100 MLB prospects since Graterol was #83. That would be Dustin May!
Gonsolin is no. 82 on Baseball America list of top 100, so it may be him. I would hate to give up Gonsolin under these circumstances, but if Graterol comes to the Dodgers then that would be a pretty fair deal. I think Boston is also motivated to get this deal done as they are not going to dump Price on another team without including Betts.
I hope Ken Rosenthal and Jeff Passan realize they were used by Boston in this process. I believe the trade details were intentionally leaked by Boston to “poll” the reactions of baseball pundits, and its own fans to the trade. KR and JP were so intent on getting the story out first, they didn’t consider that they were being a pawn in Bloom’s strategy. Only after it became apparent that the Dodgers were considered to be the BIG WINNER in the deal did Bloom cry foul with Graterol’s medical history.
I wonder if Preller and Bloom are talking?
Probably; they are have the same type of character flaws. Preeler has been suspended twice (30 days each time) by MLB; once as a Texas Ranger for negotiating with an under age Latin American player, and the other as San Diego Padres for failing to disclose medical information in the Drew Pomeranz trade.
If the Red Sox are trying to squeeze the Dodgers for more prospects because of fan out-cry, then Friedman should punish them for being unprofessional. Give them a prospect commensurate with Graterol that will help appease the fans, but now Boston pays 80% of Price’s remaining contract. The majority of Boston fans complaining will only care about the talent swap, they’ll have no sympathy for the money element. The party that cares is the Boston front office and reneging on a deal due to public pressure is bush league. They need to pay. Literally. Dangerous game Bloom would be playing, specifically for his own career. Trust is an important component in GM relationships across all sports. Shoot, he might even resign to detach himself from it and try to maintain his reputation. Crazy if this is true.
Friedman should just get the deal done; 50% of Price’s contract is a good deal, don’t mess up the deal that will also impact the Twins and Angels deals. Live by the adage, “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Now that Friedman knows Bloom’s character flaw he can proceed accordingly in the future — or, simply remove Bloom permanently from his contact list.
Unfortunately we live in an age in which mendacity has been elevated to an art form. It’s not just Preller or Bloom, but it has spread throughout our society due to the rise of relativism. “Lying isn’t necessarily lying when lying is necessary to get what I want!”
Before free agency trades were about determining equal value for the trade pieces because salaries were similar. But now the salary is more important. So if you absorb a huge salary from another team why should you also match the player’s ability?
Consider If you bought a fancy expensive hot rod and you’re having buyers remorse because it’s too expensive and I would like the car. If I take over the payments I shouldn’t also give you the amount the car is worth, I’d be paying twice! More reasonable is I take over payments and give you the old car I have so you have something to drive. Your need was to get out of the car loan and mine was to get that car, period.
So doing Boston a favor and taking 2 huge contracts off their hands should be payment enough. Not what is Mookie worth and is what they’re getting the equal amount of WAR.
Red Sox paying ~ half of Price’s remaining contract, the Dodgers will be paying him roughly what he is worth (2 WAR). Betts at $27M is expensive by my standards, but based on the MLB market he is currently underpaid based upon his performance to date. The trade as originally structured is a fair deal for both teams, but Boston reneging throws a monkey wrench into the deal
I think it will get worked out fairly soon. Too much at stake here. The Dodgers want Betts and the Red Sox need salary relief. The Twins want to add a #3 SP and have Maeda. It will get worked out. Twins offer someone else or add a piece or perhaps the Dodgers add someone and take more $$ from the Red Sox.
I do think it is complete BS that the medicals were not examined before the trade leaked and agree that Bloom or other Red Sox executives leaked the trade to gauge fan sentiment. The Red Sox are a team on par with the Astros, two teams that lack integrity and character, and it starts right at the top with ownership.
If the trade does blow up, Doc and AF will have to do their best by bringing Joc, Kenta and Stripling back into the fold, have the team re-group by saying F$%^ it and go out and annihilate the opposition. Tall task indeed which is why I think the trade will get done.
I don’t think Boston is making any decision based on what the fans think. These are successful professionals, and they don’t get to this point by 2nd guessing themselves, asking reports what they think, and going back on trades because a few fans complain.
If they are consistent 2nd guessers, they’re in the wrong job. In fact, they would have never gotten to this level (owners and gm’s of a team like the Boston Red Sox) if they continually 2nd guess their moves.
This will get done, with a minor tweak as needed. There are always contingencies in place in case medicals don’t go exactly as expected. This will get hammered out and we can all buy our Luis Rengifo jerseys within a few days.
Not just the fans, but they do care what their industry is saying ““The Dodgers made one of the most lopsided trades for a superstar player in baseball history. They gave up only two players from their major-league roster and zero prospects from their farm system to land one of the top five position players in the game in Mookie Betts along with veteran starter David Price, and also got the Red Sox to pay a significant chunk of Price’s salary.” – Jim Bowden. MLB Radio Hot Stove League hosts were saying much the same thing, as were Fox and ESPN analysts. I absolutely believe MLB teams intentionally leak / plant information with journalists to test the waters of trades and signings.
This all seems like a repeat of the Kemp to San Diego trade:
On December 11, 2014, he was traded to the San Diego Padres along with Tim Federowicz and $32 million in cash for Joe Wieland, Yasmani Grandal, and Zach Eflin. The trade was not finalized until December 18 due to the Padres expressing some concerns over a physical which revealed Kemp had severe arthritis in both hips.
If this is some game that the Sox have orchestrated, I don’t think it’s being steered by Bloom. He and Friedman have a longtime relationship and he has a good reputation throughout baseball.
If this is some nefarious plot, I’ll bet it’s being driven by ownership.
Look at the bright side, if this blows up in our face, we get Verdugo, Pederson, Maeda, Stripling and Pages!
Okay, deep breath. I expect the trade to go through. Other than Jon Heyman’s report that the deal could fall apart, most people expect it to happen, perhaps with a tweak. We should remember that most of the information coming out is probably a day or two day old, not in real time.
As to the pitcher, I’d take him. Yes, he had TJ and had a little shoulder issue during this past year, but came back throwing 100 with movement. High risk, big reward. Most people think of him as a reliever, a closer. The Red Sox had to know this. It probably has to do with posturing as much as anything. I’m sure they would like to add a piece. That could come from the Dodgers or Twins.
I really don’t think this has to do with a reaction from media or fans. They knew the reaction was coming. It’s Boston.
But the bottom line is that the Red Sox apparently need to shed salary and get under the cap and this does it. They have too many bad contracts and no flexibility. Betts will want $400 million or something close to it this winter. That won’t be Boston. Think Jon Lester.
They didn’t bring in Chaim Bloom to keep a bloated, aging and high price roster together, especially when it appears likely the Red Sox will finish behind both the Yankees and Rays in the division.
No one is going to take on David Price’s contract or even half of it in a stand alone deal. Most teams, who can afford that, are doing the same thing the Red Sox are doing, trying to stay or get under the cap. That pretty much makes the Dodgers the only team that can make this deal. The Padres couldn’t. They needed to dump Will Myers contract. If it was just about return, the Sox would have made the deal with the Padres. They offered more prospects. Remember we went through this with the Matt Kemp trade to the Padres.
Peter Gammons said something interesting yesterday. The Red Sox may be expecting severe penalties when Rob Manfred makes his announcement, probably next week, with the loss of of draft picks and other penalties. All the more reason to get this done. Spring may be coming, but a long winter may lie ahead for the Red Sox.
The Dodgers aren’t trading Dustin May.
Mark Feinsand said the sides are “making progress” and an announcement could come as early as today. A writer covering the Twins reported that they expect the trade to go through.
We should all remember what someone once told Ned Colletti: if you listen to the fans and the media, you may end up sitting in the seats with them.
Bob Nightengale now reporting the trade will become official today.
Not the biggest fan of this blog post.
Bluto – if you don’t mind me asking…
How come you are a fan of the Dodgers & the RedSox, who do you like more, and do you write on RedSox Blogs as well?
Grew up in Boston. Brookline, to be specific.
I guess I like Boston more, just because it’s my first love.
Yes, under a different fake name of course.
So how does the conflicted Bluto respond to the Betts trade (assuming it happens with the Twins adding another prospect for the Sox) ?
It’s the same thing across the league. Ridiculously wealthy owners are hewing to an arbitrary salary cap.
It leads to bad decisions. Has done so for the Dodgers, is doing so for the Sox.
Now, if the conversation changes to Dombrowski, it’s much more complex.
Bluto,
I’m also a MA transplant who grew up following the Bosox. 2018 series was a conflict of loyalties. I gave edge to LAD due to WS drought. Last few years have soured me on my boyhood team though.
Grinch
Cheers Bluto – thx for clearing that up.
You must do a lot of Baseball watching and reading.
Still – there is no better sport.
I get it. Sorry…
It was harsh! My son-in-law is a Red Sox fan and he had to ride in the truck with me for 8 hours this week, so he was really in pain.
Can’t prove it, but someone who knows John Henry said he thinks Henry told Bloom to get out of the deal. No clue if that might be true… but it might be. Bloom may be just dragging his feet to pacify the boss, but the deal will get done.
Hearing that the betts trade should be official today by Nightingal
A great piece in The Athletic where they “compare” the Dodgers with a team amalgamated of the best players from the other NL West teams.
Here’s a snippet:
Final verdict
Dodgers fWAR: 54.1
Best of the Rest of the West fWAR: 51.7
The Tally
Diamondbacks 6 players
Rockies 6 players
Padres 4 —players
Giants 2 players
Dodgers vs. the West’s Best
The winner is: The Dodgers win it by the margin of one pretty good big-leaguer — an Eduardo Escobar, if you will. That’s what happens when you have two MVPs on your roster, Betts and Bellinger…
Did you all know that our very own Mookie Betts is a distant cousin of Meghan Markle?
We have some royalty in the house now!!
We do NOT have some royalty in the house now, however we hope to have some royalty in the house by the end of the day. 🙂
That’s a fun fact. Where did you read that?
Is she still considered royalty? :/
Well hopefully Mookie will join the Dodger family next year and not walk away like Meghan!
Let us hope that this deal does not fall through. It would be awful if it did. I don’t even know how it would be done. My question would be whether the Twins were a part of the deal at the outset; i.e., did all three teams agree? The Angels deal does not seem to be a part o f that ,but rather an adjoining piece. So the concern is whether somehow the Dodgers would be stuck with the lopsided (in LAA favor) Angels deal, would be stuck with the lopsided (in Minnesota’s favor) Twins deal, and would somehow end up with no Pederson, no Stripling, no Pages no Maeda, and would just have an injured Graterlol, and a now unhappy Verdugo. Or would the Minnesota part of the deal be coupled to the Boston deal, so that we would have an unhappy Maeda back, too?
I agree that this is ridiculous. Graterol was someone whom Boston wanted, and we made it happen for them. He was not ever our player, except on paper. Was Boston essentially saying to the Dodgers,, “We want Graterol, you can get him for us, but if we decide he has injury problems, it’s all off, and you guys deal with it?” It is very likely that much of the reason we made the Angels trade was to shed some salary after we got Betts. I do not think we would have made it without having gotten Betts. So what Boston appeared to be trying to do, to get out of a deal with various corollaries, is simply unacceptable. An d if it were to happen–and let us very much hope it does not-then Friedman would be deserving of some blame for making the three-team deal, and then the Angels deal, without being certain that Boston could not back out of it. It is one thing when your own player has some injury issues and you are vouching for him, it is another when it it is some other team’s player whom you have no way to check or even research, before sending him along. Bottom line, of course, is that it would be appallingly bad form for Boston to try to back out of this.
Recent report on MLB radio was encouraging that deal may be done as early as today, but no indication how the deal is structured.
You said…”And if it were to happen–and let us very much hope it does not-then Friedman would be deserving of some blame for making the three-team deal, and then the Angels deal, without being certain that Boston could not back out of it.” Why are you speculating that Friedman should be blamed in any way for any of this? Every trade is held up for medicals. Surely you do not believe that this trade was leaked by the Dodgers FO; the most tight lipped FO in MLB. They do catch a lot of flak for being secretive. I have not seen Graterol’s medicals, but he was not expected to be a starting pitcher, and it appears that Boston is holding it up because they thought they were getting a SP who could throw 100 MPH. They are using the medical knowing that he had TJ surgery and shoulder concerns before the trade to hold it up because of buyer’s remorse. This is an excuse because Boston got hosed and they know it. I suppose Graterol could have a new medical concern, and Minnesota was trying to force it through, but that is not AF’s fault. He was accommodating Boston in acquiring Graterol. He would have reviewed the same medicals if he had tried to trade for Graterol for the Dodgers.
Now with regards to the Angels, if the Angels trade was not contingent on the Betts/Price trade being consummated, it would have been announced by now. There will still be plenty of room for you to complain about the LAA trade as it probably will not look like a “fair” trade once all of the prospects are announced, and we can hear about what a moron AF is from his detractors. But then again AF took a lot of heat for the Kyle Farmer trade. I think he has been vindicated on that one.
The worst outcome is that they untangle the entire deal, and everyone goes home as they started. That should mean a lot of unhappy/bitter/pissed off players. The second worst case scenario is that the Dodgers include Gonsolin in the deal and keep Graterol, again depending on if there are any new medical concerns.
The GMs that look bad in this are either Chaim Bloom or Thad Levine…not AF.
Are we really squabbling over uniformed opinions that are based on hypotheticals?
Do we have nothing better to do?
I guess you are
But not am I
“ Are we really squabbling over uniformed opinions that are based on hypotheticals?
Do we have nothing better to do?”
Says a guy squabbling over uninformed opinions; with obviously nothing better to do. Otherwise, well, you’d be doing something better.
Self contradicting criticism is fun.
For example, I think it’s intolerable how men do stupid things when they drink. Also, hold my beer.
Dodgers win the arbitration hearing with Joc, he’ll get 7.75 mil instead of 9.5.
Maybe that means we get a slightly better prospect in the trade.
Dodgers defeat Joc in arbitration; better deal for the Angels
Any truth to the rumor that Joc’s attorney was someone named Bumsrap?
That is what Rosenthal is reporting
Joc’s last experience as a Dodger. Losing an arbitration hearing and then being shown the door.
Don’t let the door hit ya where the Lord cracked ya.
That would explain the verdict.
https://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2019/07/01/mookie-betts-meghan-markle-related/
Sounds like the disagreement is between Boston and the Twinkies. Like William said, the Red Sox wanted the Graderol and the Dodgers obliged. Everyone in baseball knew this guy was projected as a relief pitcher except Boston. Give me a break. So unless his medicals looked far worse than expected this is all on Boston. Now, Bloom and Freidman are tight so like it’s been reported if Boston and Minnesota can’t resolve their differences the Dodgers and Red Sox will move on without them.
Reminds me of the time McCourt reneged on a trade with the Yankees and Steinbrenner said he would never trade with the Dodgers again.
Dodgers sign Chris Taylor to two-year deal per Bill Shaikin
Good news!
That leaves Baez.
I will second that!
I guess I can 3rd that, LOL, Actually hoping that deal for Betts would be done by thew time I got back from Trader Joes, but OK maybe by end of day. I figured to be honest that no Dodger player would have to wait for an arbitration hearing, but not too surprised that Joc lost his. I now believe because of that in part, that the deal with Angels should get done now as well.
A bunch of bull sh-t!! Look what the Dodgers gave up for Manny M
This is all a bunch of bull sh-t by ignorant fans. Compare what the Dodgers gave up for Manny Machado. B
This is a bunch of bull sh-t by crybabies. Just look at what Manny Machado was traded for. Alex Verdugo is a good player. Compare his first year in the majors with Mookie and throw away your tissues. A draft pick is highly unlikely to compare or be major league ready.
Tom.
You really are mad!
Red Sox Rumors: BOS Wants Top-10 Twins Prospect to Finish Mookie Betts Trade
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2875273-red-sox-rumors-bos-wants-top-10-twins-prospect-to-finish-mookie-betts-trade
MLB rumors: Giants interested in signing Yasiel Puig in free agency
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/giants/mlb-rumors-giants-interested-signing-yasiel-puig-free-agency
And I was hoping Arizona would sign Puig and reunite him with Bumgarner!
You might still get your wish Cassidy. Giants have signed Hunter Pence and Billy Hamilton in the last couple of hours. I’m not sure how many outfielders they have room for so YP may be on the outside looking in.
If this deal falls through, is it worth completing the Minnesota side of the trade? Brusdar Graterol has a nasty fastball and could turn into a good/great relief pitcher. Of course it won’t matter if his arm falls off.
Young, potential closer for a 32-year old no. 4 starter seems like a good trade
I agree with Mark and AC.
This stinks to high heaven.
It seams obvious now that the Dodgers are now in a position where they may have to use prospects from the Joc trade w/Angels to send to Boston to make the deal happen. But if Boston just wants to weasel out of the deal, they can. The excuse they are throwing around doesn’t remotely pass the smell test. If arm chair scouts like us knew the Twins were sending over a future bullpen piece, we are to believe a team like Boston didn’t know that? I think the Boston GM did his job and is now being asked to go back on his word. Probably being put into an impossible situation.
At this point, I think we are 50/50. Might end up with a pissed off Verdugo and Joc back with the team. Which I’m fine with. The question is, will they be?
Stop smoking dope.
Why? It’s legal. Unlike some of the things your beloved Saux did.
Apparently the whole league is as well.
https://twitter.com/mlbpa_news/status/1225903486006710275?s=21
https://twitter.com/jonheyman/status/1225884247925411841?s=21
An excellent analysis from the Boston perspective.
https://www.bostonsportssyndicate.com/2020/02/the-red-sox-have-most-to-lose-if-this.html
Sorry Son-in-Law and Bluto but the Red Sox are cheaters and scumbags.
The result will prove or disprove it!
Two words why they are damn liars:
John Henry.
He’s the same kind of scumbag as Trump.
… and I’m a Republican.
That’s as political as I get
So I guess you aren’t voting this year? I’m an independent and that’s as political as I get.
😉
Another snowflake reports in.
I just heard from a credible source that John Henry said to “Stop the deal.”
Manfred should relegate the RedSox to AA.
What a bunch of _________________________!
Wonder what the repercussions would be if it is truly just reneging on the deal?
Wouldn’t think MLBPA and player/agent would stand still-they have already expressed concerns. Not to mention what GM would ever deal with Bosox again as long as Henry was owner. Moreno has already expressed displeasure.
Don’t see how Manfred could avoid stepping in if this is the case.
Yes, other teams could refuse to deal with Boston but I don’t think Manfred can step in. Nothing was official, everything was pending physicals. It’s all completely legal as far as I can see, although not very ethical.