BOSTON --- There appears to be a specific reason why the three-team blockbuster trade involving Mookie Betts and David Price has yet to be formally announced.
Per an overnight report from The Athletic, the medical records for Twins right-hander Brusdar Graterol have raised Red Sox eyebrows. Boston now views the 21-year-old as more relief pitcher than future starter, diminishing his value alongside Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo as the return headed to the Back Bay. [...]
BOSTON --- There appears to be a specific reason why the three-team blockbuster trade involving Mookie Betts and David Price has yet to be formally announced.
Per an overnight report from The Athletic, the medical records for Twins right-hander Brusdar Graterol have raised Red Sox eyebrows. Boston now views the 21-year-old as more relief pitcher than future starter, diminishing his value alongside Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo as the return headed to the Back Bay.
Graterol made his debut with Minnesota in 2019 and came out of the bullpen in each of his 10 appearances. He’s already returned from Tommy John surgery in 2015 and a two-month shutdown period in the minor leagues last year due to a right shoulder impingement. Graterol’s fastball-slider combination is a powerful one, but the lack of a more refined arsenal suggests he could be more in line to help the Red Sox bullpen than the rotation.
Boston also should be mindful of how Graterol’s current physical conditioning could impact his future health. He was listed at 6-foot-1, 265 pounds last season, a significant gain from the reported 180 pounds he weighed when signed as an international free agent from Venezuela in August 2014. Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom could maximize an opportunity to exercise some leverage and increase the return in the deal, be it more cash toward paying down the remaining $93 million on Price’s contract or demanding additional prospect capital.
The Athletic said Boston, Minnesota and Los Angeles are still expected to complete the trade at some point in the near future. The Red Sox are sending the 27-year-old Betts, the 34-year-old Price and roughly half of Price’s salary over the next three years to the Dodgers. Los Angeles starter Kenta Maeda will also move to Minnesota.
By any reasonable measure, statistical or otherwise, Boston is giving up the best player in the deal. Betts was the 2018 American League Most Valuable Player and is a four-time Gold Glove winner. Only Angels outfielder Mike Trout has been more valuable than Betts per FanGraphs wins above replacement since the start of the 2016 season.
Price could well use the warm weather and more pitcher-friendly ballpark at Dodger Stadium to rediscover his form on the mound. Elbow and wrist injuries have limited Price to just 63 starts over the last three seasons after at least 31 in six of the previous seven campaigns. Price’s clinching victories over the Astros and Dodgers in the 2018 A.L. Championship Series and World Series, respectively, went a long way toward validating the seven-year contract he signed with Boston prior to 2016.
The trade does allow the Red Sox to clear more than $40 million from their payroll for the upcoming 2020 season, an amount that would bring Boston comfortably under the lowest threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax. Any Red Sox penalties incurred over the last two seasons would be reset, giving Boston additional flexibility going forward. Betts has stated his intent to test free agency following the 2020 season and gave the Red Sox no indication he was prepared to sign a multi-year extension before hitting the open market.
Boston executives – including principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Sam Kennedy – said slipping under the CBT was a goal and not a mandate entering this offseason. The Red Sox find themselves in an undesirable financial position thanks to several contracts negotiated by former president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and ultimately approved by Henry. Boston spent a combined $430 million to acquire or retain Price and fellow starting pitchers Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25