Andrew Friedman’s Mona Lisa: A Dive Into the Mookie Betts Trade
The saga was arduous, lengthy, and uncertain times, but the Mookie Betts Trade eventually happened and Betts and David Price are officially members of Los Angeles Dodgers.
At the introductory press conference for Betts and Price, a disheveled and gray-bearded Andrew Friedman looked like he hadn’t slept in a week, but once those two put on their Dodgers jersey’s for the first time, you could see it in Friedman’s smile that it was all worth it.
The Dodgers have added a top 3 player in baseball, to go along with their other top 3 player in baseball, both of whom will man the outfield at Chavez Ravine come March.
The duo of Betts and Bellinger is arguably the best in baseball, and solidifies the Dodgers as the the clear favorite in the National League, but probably makes them the favorite to win the World Series as well.
Parting with Alex Verdugo and prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong was no small price for the Dodgers, but with a focus on winning the World Series in 2020, it was a necessary price to pay.
Sure, Alex Verdugo is a phenomenal player who could make several All-Star teams in his career, and Jeter Downs is a promising young prospect. But when you have a chance to add a generational talent like Mookie Betts, you take it. When you have a chance to get a former Cy Young Award winner in that same trade, you take it.
In a 15-year career as a General Manager/President of Baseball Ops, this Mookie Betts trade is Andrew Friedman’s masterpiece, his magnum opus, his crossing of the Delaware, his Starry Night, his Mona Lisa.
Let be clear about one thing before I tell you why — regardless of what happens with the Dodgers in 2020, and regardless of the length of Mookie Betts’ tenure in LA Blue — that will remain to be true.
Friedman not only acquired Mookie Betts (who if you’re reading this article, I’m sure you know all about) but also David Price (who when healthy, as shown in 2018, can be a devastating addition to an already deep Dodgers pitching staff).
The five-time All-Star, two-time ERA champ, and 2011 Cy Young Award winner had a phenomenal 2018 season, the last season when he was fully healthy. In 176 innings, Price went 16-7 with a 3.58 ERA, 177 K’s, 50 BB’s, 9.1 K/9, and 1.14 WHIP.
He says his left wrist has recovered from the cyst he had in 2019 and if the Dodgers get 2018 David Price, good luck to the rest of the National League.
But Friedman wasn’t done.
In the initial agreement between the Twins, Dodgers and Red Sox, Twins pitcher Brusdar Graterol, a top 100 MLB Pipeline prospect flame-throwing pitcher, was headed to Boston. After some “medical concerns” (AKA ownership hearing the media backlash and trying to save face) surfaced from the Red Sox, the trade fell through. Ultimately, the Red Sox and Dodgers agreed to a less complicated 2-team trade(the one mentioned above).
However, Friedman saw this opportunity to salvage a separate deal with the Twins, who coveted Dodgers SP Kenta Maeda, and Friedman pounced. What was once “just” the Mookie Betts Trade turned into something far greater.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right? Friedman not only acquired Graterol from the Twins in exchange for Kenta Maeda, but he also essentially bought the 67th overall draft pick in the 2020 MLB Draft from the Twins in exchange for $10 million, and low-level prospect Jair Camargo.
Dodgers receive: P Brusdar Graterol, 67th pick in 2020 draft
Twins receive; SP Kenta Maeda, $10 million, Jair Camargo
The 21-year old Graterol is under team control through 2024, and has um, well, some nasty stuff. His featured pitch, a turbo sinker, averages 99mph, and he also showcases a slider, changeup, and four-seam fastball.
Brusdar Graterol's 🔥 stuff. pic.twitter.com/Z1ZZdW9CNU
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 9, 2020
You are looking at the young heir-apparent to Kenley Jansen. Friedman not only acquired him for Kenta Maeda, who was unhappy with a potential bullpen role on the Dodgers, but also snagged a the 67th overall draft pick from Minnesota.
For context, the Dodgers selected Alex Verdugo with the 62nd pick in the 2014 draft.
The team will end up keeping Joc Pederson, Ross Stripling, and promising OF prospect Andy Pages who were headed to the Angels in a trade that was contingent with the first version of the Twins/Dodgers/Sox swap. Apparently, Angels owner Arte Moreno got impatient and bitter and pulled out of the deal that would drastically help his team win in 2020 to… make a point?
So, to recap, just so we’re all clear here: Friedman maintained his top-3 farm system in all of baseball, while acquiring
- Mookie Betts, David Price (with the Red Sox paying half of his $96 million contract), Brusdar Graterol, and the 67th pick in the 2020 Draft
- In exchange for Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs, Connor Wong, Kenta Maeda, $10 million, and low-level prospect Jair Camargo
The team remains loaded in terms of prospects, and has all the resources necessary to add another piece, if necessary, at the trade deadline.
As I said, MONA LISA.
Friedman has done his job. He has put the best possible players on the field to compete and win a World Series in 2020, and after three straight years of severe disappointment, that is the only thing anyone really wants.
The ownership has done their job, too. They gave the go ahead to offer Gerrit Cole $300 million, they gave the go ahead to go over luxury tax this season so the team could put the best possible players on the field, and that’s exactly what Friedman did.
“Andrew Fraudman” and “The Dodgers are cheap” are tired arguments that have little to no backing. Last I checked, Friedman and Stan Kasten weren’t pitching the 8th inning or leaving runners stranded in scoring position.
What happens next is entirely on the players and, brace yourselves, Dave Roberts.
It’s time for the players to take what they were robbed of and deserved in 2017, it’s time for them to rise to the occasion, perform in the postseason, and deliver what they and the fans in Los Angeles so wholeheartedly deserve, and they have the roster to do it.
Andrew Friedman delivered his masterpiece. The Mookie Betts trade delivered more helpful pieces than just a top-3 player in the game. Can the players respond with their own? I know they can, and I believe they will.
This trade is as phenomenal for the Dodgers as it is catastrophic for the Red Sox, and that has nothing to do with the players Boston received back from the Dodgers.
In a billion dollar industry, when your team is worth $3.2 billion, there is zero, and I mean ZERO excuse for letting go of your star player, face of the franchise, MVP, and generational talent.
Betts said himself that he loved Boston and didn’t want to leave. The team reportedly offered him $300 million in an extension, even though he’s worth around $400 million. That is not an excuse to trade him. The correct way to handle the situation was to hold onto him for this year, and make it work, one way or another. You trade ANYONE else BUT Betts. It’s a sad day for all of baseball when a team trades a top-3 player in baseball because they “can’t afford” him.
Nonetheless, the Dodgers are the beneficiaries, and find themselves in the driver’s seat to sign Betts long-term, win a World Series in 2020, and avenge the teams of 2017 and 2018, who were robbed of the chance to bring a trophy back to Los Angeles. It’s time for the Dodgers to go on their 2020 Revenge Tour (patent pending), and win the whole damn thing.
-David Rosenthal (@_therealdrose)
