BOSTON (AP) — The holdup in the trade that would send 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers is unfair to the players involved, the head of their union said on Friday.
The Boston Red Sox had a pending trade that would send Betts and lefty David Price to the Dodgers for outfielder Alex Verdugo and Twins prospect Brusdar Graterol. The deal was agreed to on Tuesday night pending the exchange of medical information, two people with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal was not final.
But Boston is said to have balked when it saw Graterol’s medical records, and the deal still has not been finalized. That is holding up a side deal that would send outfielder Joc Pederson from the Dodgers to the Angels.
“The proposed trades between the Dodgers, Red Sox, Twins, and Angels need to be resolved without further delay,” Major League Baseball Players Association boss Tony Clark said in a statement. “The events of this last week have unfairly put several Players’ lives in a state of limbo.”
Separately, Pederson lost his salary arbitration case against the Dodgers on Friday. He will be paid $7.75 million instead of his request for $9.5 million.
“The unethical leaking of medical information as well as the perversion of the salary arbitration process serve as continued reminders that too often Players are treated as commodities by those running the game,” Clark said.
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