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The Boston Red Sox are derailing their giant Mookie Betts trade by not googling “Brusdar Graterol” before they agreed to the deal. It’s not like there are a lot of other guys by that name playing in the MLB. Still, if the medical report did turn up something that made the Red Sox devalue Graterol, I don’t mind the Twins substituting in another prospect. That isn’t what Heyman is reporting though:
Red Sox are still seeking a top-10 #MNTwins prospect in addition to Graterol. Thus far, Twins are saying no. #Mookie
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 7, 2020
If the Red Sox were asking for a different top ten prospect, then the Twins should be the ones on the hook to meet that price. Graterol for Maeda is a reasonable trade. Graterol plus another top ten prospect for Maeda is lunacy. The Twins are right for holding their ground on this point.
The Red Sox also have a valid point: if Graterol isn’t as valuable as they thought, then they need more value in the trade. That’s where the Dodgers need to step in. The Dodgers are receiving the most value in this trade. They’re getting Mookie Betts and David Price, and only giving up money (which they basically have a license to print) plus Alex Verdugo and Kenta Maeda. That’s an absolute steal. If the Red Sox need another top-ten prospect added, the Dodgers should be the ones to do it.
Again according to Heyman (worth a small bit of salt, but better than Nightengale,) the Dodgers and Red Sox are also discussing other ways to complete the deal, so hopefully this is one of their thoughts.
There’s been a lot of back and forth between Red Sox and Twins to try to wrap up the Mookie mega deal. And just in case, the Red Sox and Dodgers are also looking at ways to do deal without the Twins, either directly or by using a different 3rd team.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 7, 2020
The Red Sox and the Dodgers both have more to lose in this trade than the Twins do. If things reset to last week, I’m reasonably confident in the Twins rotation still. Maeda does make them better, but its a few marginal wins. He’s just another cog in the quantity over quality strategy at this point.
So, all this goes back to the Dodgers and Red Sox need to work this out, if the Red Sox still want Graterol plus more value. The Twins should hold their ground. A top ten prospect for a starting pitcher. If the Twins need to give up another prospect, the Dodgers should send another player to Minnesota. Otherwise, skip the middleman and send Boston a prospect. Or just let the Twins out, but quit leveraging them to overpay. They shouldn’t and hopefully won’t.
If Boston was being reasonable, the deal could get done with Jorge Alcala or Jhoan Duran instead, and/or maybe another low level prospect. Asking for two top-ten prospects just smacks of Boston seeing the fan reaction to the deal, and deciding to get more. Graterol’s medical report just feels like a convenient excuse to do so. If this is how Chaim Bloom operates, I hope the Twins are never willing to engage in trade talks with him again.