After almost an entire winter of rumors building momentum, the Dodgers, Red Sox and Twins have reportedly agreed to a three-team trade that will see both outfielder Mookie Betts and lefty starting pitcher David Price end up in Los Angeles.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe were among the first to report the news.
According to the reports, the Dodgers are sending Alex Verdugo back to the Red Sox. Additionally, Los Angeles is shipping righty swing man Kenta Maeda to Minnesota for highly regarded flamethrower Brusdar Graterol, who will end up going to Boston to complete the three-team deal.
Betts will earn $27 million this year and can become a free agent at the conclusion of the season. Price has three years and $96 million remaining on his contract.
Rosenthal has indicated that the Red Sox will send a significant amount of cash to the Dodgers to help cover the salaries of both players.
The 27-year-old Betts last year slashed .295/.391/.524 with 29 home runs and 80 RBI. His efforts tallied him a 6.6 fWAR, good enough for fifth-best in the American League.
Early rumors swirling say the Dodgers want to extend Betts to a long-term contract.
Price has a lifetime 3.31 ERA over 311 major league starts. In 2019, the 34-year-old native of Tennessee went 7-5 with a 4.28 ERA in 22 starts.
In an entirely separate development, the Dodgers have also agreed to a trade that will send outfielder Joc Pederson to the Angels in exchange for switch-hitting infielder Luis Rengifo.
Jeff Passan of ESPN was the first to report the Pederson deal.
Last season, the 22-year-old Rengifo hit .238/.321/.364 with seven homers and 33 RBI over 406 PA. The Nicaraguan native logged 104 appearances at second base and 12 at shortstop at the big league level.
Rengifo has two options remaining on his contract.
Late on Tuesday night, Passan added there might be more players being moved between the Dodgers and the Angels.
Stay tuned for more details as they continue to develop.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
AF certainly earned his new contract tonight! Well,done AF! We will be sending you your honorary Shlemming tee shirt ASAP
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Hate to lose Joc and Maeda man. I think we are going to sorely miss both this year. That being said I can’t wait to see Mookie in blue!
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I know what you mean Alex but I don’t think we’ll miss Maeda that much. We picked up 2, maybe 3 starting pitchers in Price, Wood and Nelson. AND we have others working to get in the mix. We have, on paper anyway, a lot of pitching depth. I like Joc, and I really wanted to see how good Verdugo is, but we have Betts and Cody in our outfield now and left field is either another platoon or up for grabs. This is exciting stuff.
It’s a shlemming party, who could ask for more? Everybody’s coming, leave your doubting at the door.
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Oingo Boingo reference, nice!
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I believe my friend the much bigger loss is Ryu. Maeda was ok. Better as a reliever than a starter. But Ryu was a monster. As for Joc, his trade opens playing time for Beatty. They still have plenty of options.
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I don’t think AF is done yet. It looks like Pollock and Beaty will get most all the playing time in left. Belli and Mookie will start just about every day. JT is the guy who needs rest, but neither Kike nor CT3 are a particularly good third baseman. I’ll go out on a limb here and say that either Kike or CT3 (probably Kike) is traded for a good field/no hit third baseman shortly. Kike didn’t sound particularly happy at FanFest when they asked him what his role would be this year and that was before this trade. He loves being a Dodger but I’m sure would love to get more playing time somewhere else going into his contract year.
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As much as I hate losing two fan favorites in Kenta and Joc let’s give credit where it is due. The Dodgers just got Mookie Betts and a throw in David Price without giving up any of our top prospects and still staying below the luxury tax. That’s a win from where I sit. Lots of shakeup coming as I’m not sold they go into opening day trusting pollock to stay healthy but things just got very interesting.
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More players? I would hope so. Joc for Rengifo is not nearly a even trade.
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Shipping out Pederson and his $9 million puts the Dodgers back under the cap.
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Don’t forget maeda wasn’t happy here with his role, so I’m not surprised he was involved in this deal.
So I’m assuming the non shlemmings will quit bad mouthing AF for a week or two. Maybe?
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Bad enough I have to eat some crow…..but being questioned on my spelling of Schlemming is unconscionable
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Apparently, Andy Pages is also being sent to the Angels with Pederson. We just talked about Pages last week. https://thinkbluepc.com/2020/01/29/dodgers-roster-a-quick-peek-at-the-minor-league-outfield-depth/
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That seems to be the case, and according to some story’s a MLB ready pitcher is going to the Halo’s and LA getting one of their prospects back in return.
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Did Joc win his arbitration ? Because if it is not over yet he could only be making the 7.6 LA offered.
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It just feels kind of crappy that as high of an untouchable prospect Joc used to be in our organization that in the end he gets shipped off as a salary dump for another trade. I really had high hopes for Joc. I’ll miss his ridiculous power. For all his faults that guy could murder a baseball when he connected.
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I remember when Pederson swiped 30 bags for Triple-A Albuquerque in 2014 when he weighed 190 lbs. No kidding.
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He hit 30HR that year too I believe Dennis. We all thought he was a perennial all star CF for 10 years. Then he gained 30…..er……50 pounds, lost his range to play CF or hit lefties and started swinging for the fences every at bat.
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You’re right. It was 33 HR. Also walked 100 times. That’s almost unheard of for a minor leaguer.
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After giving it more thought, we have to hit Mookie leadoff, don’t we? His speed and ability to get on base would be wasted anywhere else. I at first figured he’d hit 3rd but he’s got to set the table.
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Mookie will be the leadoff hitter.
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I will really mss Joc. No one seemed to have more fun than him! I think he and Trout will hit it off. Best to you Joc. I will miss you
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Rumor has it that the pitcher heading to the Angels will either be Stripling or Gonsolin. I hate losing either of those guys for a middle infielder and a prospect.
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Where did you see that?
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I seriously doubt either of those guys are a throw in to that deal.
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That is what is being reported. Andy Pages, Joc Pederson and a MLB ready pitcher to the Angels for Rengifo and one Angel prospect as yet un named. So, who on the roster is MLB ready and likely to be moved in a deal ? Gonsolin has been discussed in many deals, and so has Strip. Any one else, I doubt it
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If it’s someone who is MLB ready as opposed to already here, it might be someone like Dennis Santana. We should be getting a nice prospect back for everything we’re sending them.
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Maybe the folks in Anaheim consider Yadier Alvarez “MLB-ready.”
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It is on twitter……players are still being notified. Oh by the way, Yasiel was at the Laker game tonight. Looked in great shape.
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It’s often hard to trust most of the info you see on Twitter unless it’s from a verifiable source. Lots of nobodies seem to have the tendency of being overly speculative. 🙂
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Ferguson would fit that description also
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Who’s the prospect? Adell? Marsh or Jones? That’s a lot to give up for a nobody utility player? This one getting weirder by the moment!
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I’m confused about this pederson trade, I thought Rengifo wasn’t enough, now the dodgers are throwing in more? This doesn’t make sense.
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Joc’s $9 million moves Dodgers back under the tax threshold.
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Still they are getting a starting OF with 30HR power for only $9 million along with a top 30 prospect in our organization and we get a light hitting utility guy. It’s not the Angels are taking on massive amounts of money and getting nothing for it. Adding someone like Stripling to this deal would be terrible. We are dangerously thin as it is if the rotation sustains injuries. You can’t count on Alex Wood at all and Urias plus Nelson are still working back from injuries. We need to keep a steady as he goes innings eater like Stripling around.
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Boston fans are losing their minds! I love it! They are talking about there being another curse of the Bambino lol.
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Reading some other stuff about the joc trade, seems like there is a lot more to this trade, not sure I like the rumors so far, makes it sound like we had to sell joc.
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Keith. It was a salary dump. Pure and simple. Even getting 50 million from the Sox for Price’s contract they still are barely under the tax. So they needed to dump some salary and Joc will get over 7 million.
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Yeah Alex, anytime the fans on the east coast are upset it makes me happy.
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Can’t blame bosox fans for being upset, another billionaire owner worried about saving a few million dollars of luxury tax, instead of trying to win.
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it is looking like the pitcher is Ross Stripling. He has removed #dodgers from his twitter feed. Most likely we will know for sure tomorrow.
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The dodgers are giving up a lot, to get a utility player and a prospect. It better be a top prospect. As I stated earlier I’m confused by this deal.
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Perspective. The deal isn’t done yet. Let’s wait until it is, then we can evaluate it.
Months of talk about Friedman, some of us asking for patience. We don’t win championships and it’s Friedman’s fault, then we find out those that do win cheated to beat us. Last year’s loss I still pin squarely on Roberts. If it had worked he’s a genius. It didn’t. He’s an idiot.
I say again, it’s good to be a Dodger fan
.
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Always good to be a Dodger fan, I know you agree. I think that the way the Dodgers had cast Joc as a “no hit lefties” player, it was good to move him on, he deserves better and I hope he gets a chance to prove the hatas (FO) wrong. The Dodgers have a way of giving up too much for too little in return, thus this deal with the Angels.
Now the other deal, will you all be as excited about Betts if he leaves after one year? What about if he wins one championship and then leaves after one year, will that be enough to justify the rental? Or could the Dodgers actually have a handshake deal to sign Betts to a astronomical deal (maybe I shouldn’t include any world with “astro” in it)?
Hey, it’s a Dead Man’s Party (wink wink nudge nudge Scoop)
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Oingo Boingo Matter! Leave your body and soul at the door!
I’m hoping Betts loves LA and that Friedman already knows what it’s going to take to keep him here. If it’s one and done? Oh well. Yous pays your money and yous takes your chances. This is going to be a fun year. Hope it ends well.
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It is being reported this morning that the pitcher is Ross Stripling. According to the reports, and this is from MLBTR there will be some other prospects heading back to LA. Have to wait until the entire thing is sorted out.
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Assuming that Strip goes to the Angels, we will have given him a chance that he wasn’t going to get here, that of being part of a starting rotation on a regular basis. Good for him. A real team player and a very nice guy.
Maeda wasn’t happy being moved around from starter to bullpen, so we’ve done him a favor also.
Joc, although I think he was very happy here, probably feels that he can hit lefties if just given a chance. Not sure if he’ll get that in Anaheim but he definitely contributed to our success while here.
So we’re getting prospects in return from the Angels. I remember how furious some were when we made that trade with the Reds before the 2019 season. Shipping off fan favorites Kemp, Wood and Puig in what was called a salary dump. Look what we wound up with. It will be interesting to see what AF brings us this time around.
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Well it depends on the prospects and remember we sent a pretty good one their way in Pages. I think Joc will get that chance in Anaheim. They are not as loaded with outfielders as LA is. Him, Upton and Trout in the OF. That is a lot of power. And good for Strip. He no doubt fits right into that rotation. Joc gets to hit in some very hitter friendly parks in the AL. LA loses some LH pop and a reliable arm. Gets a completely worthless utility infielder which is not high on their wish list. It makes sense as a salary dump, but as a baseball trade, not so much.
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We can continue this conversation when we see who the prospects are, but remember what everyone was saying after we got those two unknown guys in the Reds trade last year. Nothing but a salary dump for a couple of no-names. Look how that turned out. And by the way, I’m hearing some pretty nice stuff about the utility infielder we got and remember Kike is probably gone after this year. Also, I believe Rengifo is a switch hitter which also helps.
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Lots of interesting discussion on the Sox board about Dombrowski in retrospect.
Some fans are calling the Cherington to Dom move a failure, even though the team won a WS. This is because of how depleted the farm is/was and how much bad money is on the books.
It’s definitely relevant given recent conversations on Dodger boards about the value of “going for it” vs. building for sustained success.
Obviously no right answers, just opinions.
I think Bear has a quote about opinions…..
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I think this is not the appropriate time for quotes. This is wait and see. Twitter is obviously blowing up over this deal. Most fans of other teams are saying we will just choke in the playoffs. One Boston fan said that, so I reminded him about the season long choke job the 2018 Series champs had last season. I think the trade for Betts makes the team stronger on offense. I think Price has something to prove, and I think Rengifo is worthless to a team loaded with utility players anyway. I do not think he will even crack the 26 man roster. I think this is going to give Beaty an opportunity to play a lot more. But all in all, we still have to wait and see just how well Betts plays when the chips are on the table.
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It’s always time for a good quote!
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Yeah…maybe….but I want to be nice for at least a day or so.
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As of right now the Boston trade is a huge win for the Dodgers. Well done AF. The Angels trade is still debatable. Can part of the deal be rewarding a good soldier in Stripling and giving him a chance to start for the Angels? Something he wasn’t going to get with us. Good luck to JOC and Strip! I’ve now become a little bit of an Angel fan.It will be interesting to see who the prospects are. Certainly has to be one top 10 guy!
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I can’t believe they traded Stripling. He’s so much better than Alex wood or Jimmy Nelson. We just downgraded our pitching staff.
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Well I also wonder if that trade gets Floro higher on the depth chart now. He steps into Strips spot, the kids, May and Gonsolin spend needed time at AAA.
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By the way. The roster has not been updated yet, so none of this is official.
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Price also makes the rotation lefty heavy again. Wood, Urias, Price and Kersh. Only RH options are Nelson, Gonsolin and May. And I do not think they are giving Wood a contract to put him in the pen. Nelson if healthy could end up being the long man. We will have to see how it all shakes out.
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Isn’t Price basically a 4 or 5 starter at this point in his career? Isn’t Kenta basically a 3 or 4 starter that can come out of the pen when asked? I’m not sure we did much good to our marginal pitching staff with this move. Hopefully the FO sees something in someone that we don’t know about, I don’t see another move for a upper tier starter on the AF horizon.
Getting Betts hopefully puts Pollack on the bench more, I can’t imagine Pollack being used as trade bait for pitching, Dodgers overpaid for a often broken OF, that move last year is still a total Mind***k from where I stand. We had plenty of OFers and were in desperate need of pitching and AF goes out and screws the pooch with that deal.
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It’s Pollock, and I predict he will earn his $15 million this year.
As for pitchers, we’ve got a lot of very good arms on this team and we have a coaching staff put together that will get the most out of all of them. And if necessary we can grab somebody at the deadline.
This is an exciting group assembled here. I think this is going to be fun. Sure wish they were televised.
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