Mookie Betts talks trade from the Red Sox
When it comes to the Red Sox' return in the trade of Mookie Betts to the Dodgers, Monday night should have been noteworthy.
For the first time, all three pieces of the deal who came the Sox' way - Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong - were on the major league roster for the first time.
But it also offered a reminder of what might have been.
Talking with WEEI.com last month, Brusdar Graterol - the player who was originally being paired with Verdugo as the return for Betts and David Price - explained his perspective on becoming a Dodger instead of currently living life as a Red Sox.
"I wasn’t surprised. I was a little taken aback by some of the comments they made about my shoulder, but I wasn’t really surprised where I ended up," Graterol said through a translator. "I think that just kept me motivated and kept me focused on doing my job and it resulted in a World Series and the results are there."
While the Red Sox certainly didn't make any public comments regarding Graterol's health, it is known those concerns were what made the Sox alter the deal from a three-way trade with the Twins and Dodgers to just dealing directly with Los Angeles.
According to a source familiar with the situation, the Red Sox hesitancy when it came to Graterol was his ability to serve as the starting pitcher they were looking to acquire.
Graterol continues to serves as key member of the Dodgers' bullpen, appearing in 37 games out of LA's bullpen while holding opponents to a .201 batting average.
In his three seasons with the Dodgers, who acquired the righty for Kenta Maeda, Graterol has pitched in a combined 111 regular and postseason games, totaling a .219 opponents batting average and 3.48 ERA.
The good news for the Red Sox of late has been the resurgence of Downs, who carried over his recent hot streak with Triple-A Worcester to supply some key hits/baserunning for the Red Sox in their weekend series against the Yankees.
Wong has had a solid year with Triple-A Worcester, hitting .264 with a .744 OPS and seven homers.
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