The Los Angeles Dodgers are adding a former Cy Young Award winner and MVP.
The Dodgers and Boston Red Sox have agreed to a deal that would send 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts and 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner David Price to Los Angeles pending physicals, sources told NBC LA.
Sources indicated that after months of negotiations between the two teams, talks gained steam in recent days, and were finalized on a call Tuesday night.
As part of the deal, outfielder Alex Verdugo is heading from the Dodgers to the Red Sox, and Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda is headed from the Dodgers to the Minnesota Twins. The Twins will send 21-year-old right-hander Brusdar Graterol to the Red Sox to complete the three-team deal.
Verdugo is considered the centerpiece of the deal from the Red Sox side. The 23-year-old outfielder batted .294/.342/.475 with 12 homers in 106 games with the Dodgers in 2019, his rookie campaign. He missed the final two months of the season with a back injury.
Graterol is a former No. 33 prospect in Baseball America's Top 100 list, and made his MLB debut with the Twins on September 1, 2019. He finished the season 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA.
Once the deal is completed, the Red Sox are reportedly sending cash to the Dodgers to offset the remaining three years, $96 million on Price's contract. Betts is set to make $27 million in 2020, after receiving the largest arbitration in MLB history. He will be a free agent at the end of the season.
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In six seasons with the Red Sox, Betts maintained a .301 batting average with 139 homers and an .893 OPS. He is a four-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glove Award winner, and a three-time Silver Slugger winner.
Price is coming off one of his worst seasons in 2019. After changing his uniform number from 24 to 10, he struggled with a cyst on his left elbow throughout the 2019 campaign, and finished 7-5 with a 4.28 ERA in 22 appearances. Price was the 2018 MLB Comeback Player of the Year, and the Dodgers are hoping he can regain his 2018 form with the Boys in Blue this season.
As part of a separate deal, the Dodgers are reportedly trading left-handed slugger Joc Pederson to the Anaheim Angels in exchange for infielder Luis Rengifo.
