The Mookie Betts trade was supposed to be part of a series of deals, but one key one has fallen through after all.
Earlier in the week, when it appeared that the Los Angeles Dodgers were poised to acquire Mookie Betts from the Boston Red Sox, they had a deal that would send Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to the Los Angeles Angels. On Sunday, the Dodgers completed a deal for Betts, but according to Ken Rosenthal, the trade with the Angels is off.
No deal between #Dodgers and #Angels, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 10, 2020
According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, it was determined that the Angels’ portion of the trade was not necessary to supplement the restructured deals the Dodgers made Sunday.
Dodgers-Angels deal was dependent on the original Dodgers-Mookie trade. But the way the deal ended up, it was determined that part of it (the Angels part) wasn’t necessary.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 10, 2020
There are likely some angry people behind the scenes. Angels owner Arte Moreno was reportedly furious over the delay, and this will probably make him more angry. The rumored deal also led to some issues with Pederson’s arbitration hearing during the week.
The Betts deal had to be restructured after the Red Sox took issue with the medicals on prospect Brusdar Graterol. Thanks to that, the Angels are now going to miss out on two key players they thought they’d be getting.