McAdam: Twins pull out of multi-team deal; Sox-Dodgers still trying to work things out

What a mess.

Four days after the Red Sox had reason to believe that they had pulled off a complicated, three-team, five-player deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, that deal was hanging in the balance Saturday night with the news that the Twins had pulled out of their portion of the blockbuster.

Originally, the Red Sox had agreed to send Mookie Betts, David Price and more than $40 million to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for outfielder Alex Verdugo and pitcher Brusdar Graterol. Graterol came to the Sox via L.A. after the Dodgers obtained him from Minnesota for veteran starting pitcher Kenta Maeda.

But the Sox grew alarmed at the medicals on Graterol, putting the deal on hold as they further reviewed things. Boston was concerned that, following a right shoulder impingement last spring -- to say nothing of Tommy John surgery in 2016 -- Graterol profiled more as a reliever rather than filling a starting role as they envisioned.

Talks between the Sox and Twins failed to yield anything, and late Saturday afternoon, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that the Twins pulled out of their end of the deal, canceling the trade with the Dodgers involving Graterol and Maeda.

That left the Sox, for the time being at least, with only Verdugo to show for Betts, Price and tens of million dollars -- obviously an insufficient return.

Where that leaves the rest of the trade is uncertain. As of Saturday night, the Sox and Dodgers were still negotiating, hoping to salvage the rest of the deal while working toward a way to deliver a top prospect to the Sox to make the deal more equitable.

Under such a scenario, the Dodgers could do either supply the Sox with one of their own prospects, or as they had tried with the Twins, make a deal with a third team to obtain a prospect to the Sox' liking.

Obviously, there's a lot at stake for both teams here, who have plenty invested in making sure the deal goes through.

The Red Sox don't want to have Betts and Price report to camp next week with full knowledge that the Sox had tried to deal them. And from the Dodgers' standpoint, their fan base had had its appetite whetted by the prospect of getting Betts, if only -- for now -- for a year. Betts is eligible for free agency after 2020, though the Dodgers certainly have the wherewithal to pay him a huge contract extension.

Further complicating matters is the fact that the Dodgers have another entirely separate deal with the Los Angeles Angels that is contingent on them obtaining both Betts and Price. The Dodgers plan to deal outfielder Joc Pederson -- made expendable by the acquisition of Betts -- and starter Ross Stripling in exchange for a couple of prospects from the Angels.

That trade is driven by salary reduction, since the Dodgers wish to rid themselves of Pederson and Stripling as a means of staying under the competitive balance tax (CBT). They would be taking on approximately $43 million in 2020 should they land Betts and Price.

Should the deal fall apart entirely -- not out of the question, given the volatility of the swap -- the Red Sox could once again engage the San Diego Padres on a deal involving Betts. But that could require the Red Sox to take back some of the remaining $61 million due outfielder Wil Myers as a condition of the deal -- something Bloom was not in favor of only a week ago.

It would also force them to find another taker for Price, which won't be easy -- given his age, injury history and $96 million remaining on his deal.

And yet, on the eve of spring training, that's where the Red Sox stand.