LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to acquire stars Mookie Betts and David Price from Boston Red Sox, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday night.
Outfielder Alex Verdugo would head to Boston in the deal that also reportedly would include the Minnesota Twins. Right-hander Kenta Maeda would move from the Dodgers to the Twins, with right-hander Brusdar Graterol moving from Minnesota to Boston.
Numerous reports stated that the deal is incomplete pending medical reviews of the principals.
Betts, a 27-year-old right fielder, was the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 2018, when he helped lead the Red Sox to the World Series championship. He will make $27 million in 2020 after avoiding arbitration, and he has stated his plans to head into free agency next winter.
In an attempt to get something back for Betts before losing him, the Red Sox also apparently found a way to unload Price’s bloated contract. Price, a 34-year-old left-hander who is a former Cy Young Award winner, still has three years and $96 million left on the seven-year, $217 million deal he signed in December 2015.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported that the Dodgers are expected to pay about half of the $96 million owed to Price, with other reports confirming the Red Sox did send cash to the Dodgers as part of the deal.
Betts is a four-time All-Star and a four-time Gold Glove winner. In 2019, hit .295 with a .391 on-base percentage, a .524 slugging percentage, 29 homers, 80 RBIs and a major-league-high 135 runs. A year earlier, his batting line was .346/.438/.640 with 32 homers, 80 RBIs and big-league-leading 129 runs. He also topped the AL in batting average and slugging percentage in 2018.
For his six-year career, all with the Red Sox, Betts has a .301/.374/.519 batting line with 139 homers, 470 RBIs and 613 runs in 794 games.
Price, slowed by injuries numerous times in his career, went 7-5 with a 4.28 ERA in 22 starts last year. The five-time All-Star is 150-80 with a 3.31 ERA in 321 career games (311 starts) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston.
Verdugo, 23, hit .294/.342/.475 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs in 106 games for Los Angeles in 2019, appearing at all three outfield positions. Over three major league seasons, all with the Dodgers, he has a .282/.335/.449 hitting line with 14 homers and 49 RBIs in 158 games.
Maeda, 31, finished 10-8 with a 4.04 ERA in 37 games (26 starts) last year in his fourth season with the Dodgers. His career record is 47-35 with a 3.87 ERA in 137 games (103 starts).
Graterol, 21, broke into the majors with the Twins in September, going 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA in 10 relief appearances. In 18 minor league games at three levels last year, he went a combined 7-0 with one save and a 1.92 ERA in 18 games (11 starts). — Reuters
