Angels general manager says little about nixed trade agreement with Dodgers

The Angels appear to have moved on from Dodgers slugger Joc Pederson and pitcher Ross Stripling after a potential trade to acquire the players fell apart over the weekend.

“There are a lot of components in deals that need to be satisfied before you get to a point where you are calling players and informing them,” Angels general manager Billy Eppler said in a statement Monday. “We weren’t able to get to that point and, in fairness to our players and players with other organizations, we won’t comment further than that.”

The Dodgers reportedly had agreed Tuesday to send Pederson, Stripling and outfield prospect Andy Pages to the Angels for infielder Luis Rengifo and at least one prospect contingent on the completion of their three-team trade to acquire star outfielder Mookie Betts and pitcher David Price from Boston.

But when the Red Sox pulled out of the original Betts/Price deal after reviewing the medical records of Minnesota Twins prospect Brusdar Graterol, who was to be sent to Boston, it threw the Dodgers-Angels trade into limbo for five days.

Dodgers

Mookie Betts and David Price, after much delay, to join Dodgers in revised deal

Pending medical evaluations, the Dodgers have agreed to trade Alex Verdugo and minor league prospects to the Boston Red Sox for Mookie Betts and David Price.

Feb. 9, 2020

The Dodgers, Red Sox and Twins were unable to come to a three-way agreement, so the Dodgers worked out separate deals with the Red Sox to acquire Betts and Price and the Twins to acquire Graterol.

Boston agreed Sunday to ship Betts, the 2018 American League most valuable player, Price, the 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner, and $48 million to cover half of the remaining $96 million on Price’s contract to the Dodgers for outfielder Alex Verdugo, shortstop prospect Jeter Downs and catching prospect Connor Wong.

The Dodgers also agreed to send veteran pitcher Kenta Maeda and $10 million to the Twins for Graterol — a hard-throwing right-hander who could be a key piece of their bullpen this season —outfield prospect Luke Raley and the No. 67 pick in the June draft.

All of the transactions are pending medical reviews.

The Angels pulled out of the Pederson-Stripling deal, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, and Eppler declined to comment on reports that owner Arte Moreno ordered Eppler to nix the trade out of frustration over the delays and the fact that it was leaked to the media.

Pederson, who hit .249 with an .876 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 36 homers — all off right-handed pitchers — and 74 RBIs, would have given the Angels a powerful left-handed bat and manned right field until top prospect Jo Adell is ready for the big leagues.

Stripling, a valuable swingman for the Dodgers over the last four seasons and an All-Star in 2018, would have likely filled a rotation spot in Anaheim.

The Angels are now expected to open spring training this week with the left-handed-hitting Brian Goodwin — and possibly Adell — in right field and a rotation of Dylan Bundy, Julio Teheran, Andrew Heaney, Griffin Canning and Shohei Ohtani when he is ready to return from Tommy John surgery.