Dodgers trade for Mookie Betts, David Price reportedly in limbo

Four days after news of a blockbuster trade that would bring Mookie Betts and David Price to Los Angeles, the deal is in limbo and indications are it might take some new blocks to complete it.

As originally constituted, the Dodgers would send Kenta Maeda to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol, then package Graterol with outfielder Alex Verdugo and send the pair to the Red Sox for Betts and Price.

But the Red Sox apparently balked after reviewing Graterol’s medical records. The 21-year-old Venezuelan spent time on the Injured List last season with a shoulder impingement, though he did make his big-league debut with the Twins in September and pitched an inning in their American League Division Series loss to the New York Yankees.

Amid reports that the Red Sox are seeking additional assets in the trade – most likely another prospect from the Twins or Dodgers – the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported Saturday that the Twins are reluctant to include any other players to complete the trade and might be willing to walk away entirely, leaving the Dodgers to rework the deal with the Red Sox (and, possibly, keep Maeda).

With the three-way trade still incomplete, the Dodgers’ deal with the Angels is also in limbo. In order to clear payroll for Betts and Price, the Dodgers have agreed to a trade that would send outfielder Joc Pederson, right-hander Ross Stripling and minor-league outfielder Andy Pages to the Angels for infielder Luis Rengifo and a prospect.

That trade is in doubt – or in need of reworking – if the Dodgers cannot complete a trade with the Red Sox.

Graterol’s agent, Scott Boras, disputed any characterization of his client as somehow damaged goods.

“To suggest that this player is not healthy going forward, or has any form of substantive medical defect that would in any way damage his career, all of that is false,” Boras said in a statement. “This is a scant supposition created by medical review, by someone who has never seen him physically.”

With the opening of spring training camps just days away, the trade complications leave several players in limbo, unsure where they will be reporting for camp. The Red Sox, in particular, are in an awkward position, potentially welcoming Betts and Price after publicly showing their willingness to shed their salaries – and enduring harsh criticism as a result. That should provide motivation to get a reworked deal done.

Earlier in the week, MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark expressed his desire to see the trade completed.

“The proposed trades between the Dodgers, Red Sox, Twins, and Angels need to be resolved without further delay,” Clark said in a statement. “The events of this last week have unfairly put several players’ lives in a state of limbo. The unethical leaking of medical information as well as the perversion of the salary arbitration process serve as continued reminders that too often players are treated as commodities by those running the game.”

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