Betts/Price to LA for Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs, and Connor Wong

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jon abbey

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sheesh, were the Angels going to get Downs or something?
Maybe the point of the deal for them was to get a reliever back from LAA and since now they have Graterol, they don't need one? It's hard to know since 2 of the 3 guys who would have been sent to the Dodgers in that deal never got leaked.
 

Green Monster

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MLB Network is saying this is still a 3-team deal. Is this just sloppy reporting or am I missing something?

I thought it had been reworked to two seperate two-team deals
 

jon abbey

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MLB Network is saying this is still a 3-team deal. Is this just sloppy reporting or am I missing something?
No, you're right, it's two simultaneous trades with no overlap and a third (Dodgers/Angels) that has fallen through.
 

nvalvo

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I am wondering how many people have actually read and thought about what they are saying about this kid. Maybe this is a board full of teatotlers, but if you went to a high school or college party where people got drunk and hooked up but you didn’t intervene then you are a lot closer to Alex Verdugo than you think you are.
I said something similar in the other thread and got yelled at.
Do people really like Downs so much more than pre-medicals Brusdar? Seems like so much hate Thursday night and people generally happier now. But the teams valued Graterol higher, hence the inclusion of Wong.

Anyone flip from disappointed Thursday to happy today?
I think this package has much less upside than the first version did.

It’s also about what I expected for a deal with Mookie *alone*, so I think Chaim did really well here, given the direction chosen.
 

Heating up in the bullpen

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For what it's worth, this deal broke the Trade Simulator:
"Not accepted.
Oops! At least one team in this trade is not giving up as much value as they should be. Try balancing it out with either more players or cash."
Says the Red Sox get 73.7M in total value (Verdugo 47.7, Downs 21.7, Wong 4.3), while the Dodgers get 43.4M (Betts 50.7, Price -55.3, $48M cash).
I'll miss Mookie -- and Price (I guess I'm one of the few who liked him) -- but I'm glad the Sox will reset the luxury tax and get some useful talent in return.

BTW, I saw Jerry Downs play for Salem in August, about a week after he was demoted from Portland. He ripped a couple doubles in that game, but didn't do much after that. I guess he's the Jair Bogaerts of the two; hopefully JD Downs ends up the Xander.
 

P'tucket rhymes with...

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I said something similar in the other thread and got yelled at.


I think this package has much less upside than the first version did.

It’s also about what I expected for a deal with Mookie *alone*, so I think Chaim did really well here, given the direction chosen.
He turned DD's lemons into credible lemonade, so it's hard not to be content with it. Solid start.
 

Madmartigan

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I’m happy with this. I’ll admit though I’m already seriously pining for Betts and hope the Sox make an aggressive offer next offseason. Maybe he’ll have a down year in the NL west and his value will fall a bit.
 

grimshaw

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I would hope so. Mookie Betts is (was) better than Goldschmidt by quite a bit. Especially given that Goldy was also open to signing.

On paper it seems like the Sox made out pretty damn well (stress "on paper" because of the Verdugo thing). I'm liking having an at least emergency catcher if he they choose to carry a true back up going forward.
 

jmm57

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I said something similar in the other thread and got yelled at.


I think this package has much less upside than the first version did.

It’s also about what I expected for a deal with Mookie *alone*, so I think Chaim did really well here, given the direction chosen.
This is kind of where I ended up tonight. I was slightly disappointed compared to Thursday night. A portion is definitely the Verdugo off field stuff, but the potential of a top end SP was nice to dream on. It probably comes down to where you get your prospect information....I use BP a lot, and it appears they are probably the highest on Graterol, and kind of low on Downs.

some of the other stuff posted here is promising though .
 

Sox Puppet

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In a kind of reverse Punto-trade nomenclature, if Verdugo and Downs turn out to be great, should we refer to this as the Graterol trade?
 

bosockboy

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Maybe the point of the deal for them was to get a reliever back from LAA and since now they have Graterol, they don't need one? It's hard to know since 2 of the 3 guys who would have been sent to the Dodgers in that deal never got leaked.
Are they over the tax now though since they didn’t dump Pederson? Guess they go Pederson/Pollock in LF.
 

DJnVa

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Hey, Mookie Betts rehabilitated the name "Mookie" for us so thoroughly that few Bostonians reflexively associate it with Mookie Wilson and 1986.

Who knows, maybe J.D. Downs will help us forget all about Mr. Gift Baskets AND J.D. Drew all at once.
Fans that want to forget about JD Drew are also fans that probably thought Bellhorn should be benched.
 

E5 Yaz

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Almost 11 million over. Trading Pederson and Stripling would've only lowered their payroll by almost 9 million.
Yeah, you have to think that the Dodgers might not be done ... and are just looking for a partner for one or both of them
 

JimD

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I think we need to embrace his Jeterness. If the MFY's had a highly-regarded catching prospect named Fisk, it would be annoying to us Sox fans. Just think of how they'll feel about having to share their hero's unique name with their hated rival.
 

Plympton91

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Giving effect to the trade the Red Sox should be $14-15mm under the 2020 luxury tax threshold.

Updating my post from the other thread:

Giving effect to the trade, the Red Sox are committed to seven players for approx. $107.9mm in AAV (Sale (25.6), Eovaldi (17.0), JDM (22.0, if no opt-out), Bogaerts (20.0), Pedroia (13.8), Benintendi (5.0), Vazquez (4.5)) in 2021. Sale and Bogaerts have no-trade clauses. Pedroia is untradeable.

In addition, the Red Sox will have approx $24mm in 40-man costs, medical benefits, etc. (using @redsoxpayroll's spreadsheet).

So, before accounting for free agents and arb players, the Red Sox would be at approx $132mm with six players on the 25-man accounted for, plus Pedroia.

ERod (arb4), Barnes (arb3) and Devers (arb1) could easily run $20-25mm. Assuming $25mm, the Red Sox are now at $167mm with nine players (plus Pedroia) committed for 2021, or $43mm under the luxury tax threshold. Assuming the Red Sox remain under the ltt in 2020, the penalty will reset to 20% in 2021.
You have to add in the $16 million they’ll be paying Price to win games for Los Angeles

It does seem like if Verdugo can navigate the pitchfork-wielding SOSH saints’ brigade and doesn’t have a chronic back problem he and Downs can be two above average producers for minimum wages in 2021. That’s a good start on returning to competitiveness.
 

jon abbey

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I think we need to embrace his Jeterness. If the MFY's had a highly-regarded catching prospect named Fisk, it would be annoying to us Sox fans. Just think of how they'll feel about having to share their hero's unique name with their hated rival.
Downs went to Houston? :)
 

DeadlySplitter

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or Price's elbow/wrist will act up again.

why are people acting like Price is guaranteed to provide even 100 innings this year?
 

Earthbound64

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I think we need to embrace his Jeterness. If the MFY's had a highly-regarded catching prospect named Fisk, it would be annoying to us Sox fans. Just think of how they'll feel about having to share their hero's unique name with their hated rival.
Agreed. Go all-in on the Jeter-ness. And if he ends up being horrible, there's nothing wrong with Jeter being horrible.
 

LesterFan

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Keith Law on what the Red Sox got in return:
Jeter Downs is a top-100 prospect whom the Dodgers acquired last winter in the trade that sent Yasiel Puig and Alex Wood to the Reds. He’s primarily played shortstop but projects as at least an above-average defender at second or third, although he’s probably just an emergency shortstop in the majors. His bat is extremely promising for a middle infielder: He led the Cal League in doubles and homers this year as a 20-year-old who was young for High A, even though he was promoted to Double A with two weeks to go in the season and even though he struggled badly to start the year. He had very good feel to hit even out of high school, but the Dodgers helped him make adjustments to the angle of his swing so he could drive certain pitches and unlock more power. If the return were just him for a year of Betts, I’d still say it was a good deal for Boston, as it seems very, very likely that Downs is at least a big-league regular at a skill position for many years, with a decent chance he’s more.

Connor Wong is an unusual kind of utility player because he can catch well enough to do it on more than an emergency basis, but he can move to other positions, including second or third base, both of which he’s played a little bit so far in the minors. He’s power over hit right now, with swing-and-miss a real problem for him going back to his time at the University of Houston, but as the 26th man on a major-league roster, he could be quite valuable for his ability to back up at least three positions — and there’s no reason he couldn’t play the corner outfield spots — or even to serve as a regular catcher on a bad team.

So now Boston ends up with its new No. 1 prospect in Downs, a useful utility prospect in Wong and a solid everyday right fielder in Alex Verdugo. Verdugo, as I wrote the other day, is probably an average regular in right field now, with his ability to hit for average, plus defense in left (and the arm for right) and eventually enough power for 60-plus extra-base hits, although I think he’s more of a doubles power guy than a home-run power guy even at his peak. That might get him to about 4 WAR, which isn’t Mookie territory, but Boston has him for five more years plus the other two players. Given my skepticism about Graterol’s ability to start, given his delivery and time missed with a shoulder issue in 2019, this feels like a much better outcome for the Sox, even if losing Mookie Betts was enough to ruin their summah.
https://theathletic.com/1595701/2020/02/09/the-mookie-betts-trade-part-2-electric-boogaloo/
 

ponch73

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Except for the next two years, Price’s $16 million goes on our tab.
You didn't answer mr_smith02's question. With the Dodgers assuming the obligation to pay Betts' $27 million and Price $16 million this year, yes, the Red Sox are significantly below the luxury cap, probably by about $15M when all is said and done.
 

LeoCarrillo

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Fictionalizing for fun, but I love the idea in the Friedman-Bloom staredown, instead of Friedman blinking per se ... he actually let out a slow smile and said something like, "I taught you well, kid. Downs it is."
 

Hank Scorpio

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Fictionalizing for fun, but I love the idea in the Friedman-Bloom staredown, instead of Friedman blinking per se ... he actually let out a slow smile and said something like, "I taught you well, kid. Downs it is."
If I ever have grandkids, this is what I’ll tell them happened.
 

cornwalls@6

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So, Verdugos awful history turns out to be a non starter. I guess from a strictly analytical stand point they did OK here. I hate losing the best Red Sox homegrown player in decades, but on we go.
 
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