Red Sox trade Betts and Price to Dodgers

I’m very happy to have Mookie Betts leave the AL East. Leaving the AL totally is fine by me too. I’ll admit I’ll miss seeing David Price, he was one of the good guys, even if he was on a bad guys team. The Red Sox are also sending money to LA, apparently about half of David Price salary over the next 3 years.

The Red Sox get Alex Verdugo and Brusdar Graterol in return. Graterol comes from the Twins, the Twins are getting Kenta Maeda in return.

About Verdugo, MLB Pipeline says:

As good as he is in the batter’s box, Verdugo’s best tool actually is his plus-plus arm. Despite average speed, he has spent much of his pro career in center field, where his instincts help him get the job done. Scouts are split on whether he can handle center on a daily basis in the Majors, but no one doubts that his arm would play in right.

He’ll likely be an everyday outfielder with the Red Sox this year.

Graterol is a right-handed pitcher, a good prospect. MLB Pipeline says:

Graterol’s stuff continues to get better the more he matures and the further removed from surgery he gets. His fastball touches triple digits and will often sit in the 96-98 mph range, with an ability to maintain velocity deep into starts. Throwing with plenty of sink, Graterol misses bats and gets a ton of ground-ball outs off of his fastball. When he committed to throw the harder version of his slider, in the 87-89 mph range, it trended toward plus, but he would back off of it at times. Continued separation between that and his slower curve will help, as will further refinement of his changeup

Graterol has pitched 12 innings of MLB ball, all out of the bullpen but likely will get a shot at being a starter for the Red Sox, maybe not right out of spring training, but likely by the end of the season.

Maeda has been a starting pitcher for the Dodgers for the past 4 seasons. He has a 47-35 record and a 3.87 ERA. He’s 31 now.

The Dodgers made a second trade sending Joc Pederson and prospect Andy Pages to the Angels for second baseman Luis Rengifo.