Teams still trying to salvage blockbuster Mookie Betts trade: reports

With last week’s multi-team blockbuster trade that would send Mookie Betts and David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers still in limbo, the teams involved are working to salvage the deal, according to multiple reports.

The snag from Tuesday’s trade that primarily involves the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox is the participation of the third club, the Minnesota Twins.

The original deal was supposed to send Betts and Price to the Dodgers. The Red Sox would get outfielder Alex Verdugo from the Dodgers and hard-throwing 21-year-old prospect Brusdar Graterol from the Twins, while Minnesota would receive Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda.

But the Red Sox reportedly are concerned about Graterol’s medical history, putting not only the three-team deal on hold, but stalling another deal involving the Dodgers that would send outfielder Joc Pederson and right-hander Ross Stripling to the Los Angeles Angels.

According to The Athletic, the teams could end up with two separate trades, with the Dodgers and Red Sox working together to come up with compensation for Betts and Price, with the Twins and Dodgers executing their own deal.

MLB Players’ Association pushes for resolution

MLB Network reports the Dodgers would send Maeda to Minnesota for Graterol since the Los Angeles front office is not as concerned with the pitcher’s medical history as the Red Sox.

The MLB Players’ Association already has grown impatient with the holdup as spring training rapidly approaches.

«The proposed trades between the Dodgers, Red Sox, Twins and Angels need to be resolved without further delay,» Tony Clark, executive director of the MLBPA, said on Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

«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.»