MLB Rumors: Who could Red Sox target if Mookie Betts trade is reworked?

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The Boston Red Sox' blockbuster trade involving Mookie Betts and David Price is still expected to go down.

But they package they receive in return is expected to change.

The Red Sox are seeking additional compensation beyond Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo and Minnesota Twins pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol after reviewing Graterol's medical records, according to multiple reports.

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Amid reports that the three-team trade is no longer a "certainty," The Boston Globe's Alex Speier provided context Thursday night on how the deal may get done.

Initially, the Sox seemed to seek an additional prospect, but it’s possible the Sox could seek a different player (or players) to replace Graterol in the deal. As of Thursday night, the matter of the back end of the deal — specifically, the status of Graterol — was viewed as a matter between the Red Sox and Twins.

If the Red Sox and Twins can't hash this out, Speier added Boston and Los Angeles could cut Minnesota out of the deal and negotiate directly to find a replacement for Graterol, possibly getting a different team involved.

But the most likely scenario is that Boston either gets an additional prospect from the Twins or replaces Graterol with one or two different prospects.

With that scenario in mind, here's a look at Minnesota's top five 2020 prospects, according to MLB.com (with Graterol included).

Royce Lewis, SS (MLB.com's No. 9 overall prospect)
Alex Kirilloff, OF/1B (No. 32 overall)
Trevor Larnach, OF (No. 81 overall)
Brusdar Graterol, RHP (No. 83 overall)
Jordan Balazovic, RHP (No. 86 overall)

Lewis and Kirilloff likely are off the table, but if the Red Sox seek another pitching prospect, they could target Balazovic, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-hander with a mid-90s fastball.

Balazovic, 21, is a bit behind Graterol developmentally: He spent the 2019 season in Single-A ball and finished with the Cedar Rapids Kernels, where he posted a 2.18 ERA with 33 strikeouts over four starts.

If Boston wants to look further down Minnesota's prospect board, Baseball Prospectus lists two more pitchers among its top 10 Twins prospects for 2020: right-hander Jhoan Duran and left-hander Lewis Thorpe.

The 22-year-old Duran has been in Minnesota's system since 2015 and carried a 4.86 ERA over seven starts for Double-A Pensacola last season, while the 24-year-old Thorpe made his major league debut in 2019, recording a 6.18 ERA over 12 appearances (two starts).

Catcher Ryan Jeffers -- the Twins' ninth-ranked prospect, per Baseball Prospectus -- also could appeal to a Red Sox team thin at backstop.

It's unlikely Boston will receive a significant upgrade in this deal, as Minnesota may just throw in extra cash and/or a lower-level prospect. But the Twins have a deep farm system with plenty of options for the Sox to choose from.

UPDATE (1:15 p.m. ET): Here's Boston's latest demand to Minnesota for a reworked deal, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman:

Here is Baseball Prospectus' full list of the Twins' top 10 prospects for 2020 as of mid-January:

1. Royce Lewis, SS
2. Brusdar Graterol, RHP
3. Trevor Larnach, OF
4. Alex Kirilloff, OF/1B
5. Jhoan Duran, RHP
6. Keoni Cavaco, SS
7. Jordan Balazovic, RHP
8. Lewis Thorpe, LHP
9. Ryan Jeffers, C
10. Gilberto Celestino, OF

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