In the final chapter to the Brian Dozier saga, it’s been revealed that at one point the Twins asked the Dodgers for Jose De Leon, Yadier Alvarez, and Willie Calhoun, according to Jon Morosi.
Postscript on Brian Dozier/#Dodgers talks: At one point, #Twins wanted Jose De Leon, Yadier Alvarez and Willie Calhoun in the deal. @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 31, 2017
While the Dodgers and Twins seemingly agreed on De Leon’s inclusion, the reports at the time were that they couldn’t agree on the secondary pieces. At one point the narrative was that the Dodgers didn’t want to give up anybody but JDL in a trade, which seemed like a bizarre position for the front office to take given that was never going to happen for Dozier. Now though, with the desire for Alvarez and Calhoun being revealed, the picture of what was going on becomes a bit clearer.
It also makes Dustin’s tweet on this a few weeks ago seem especially relevant.
Source: #Dodgers never offered RHP Yadier Alvarez in a potential Brian Dozier deal. #MNTwins asked for him but the Dodgers refused.
— Dustin Nosler (@DustinNosler) January 11, 2017
Certainly the Twins were likely negotiated down from the demand Morosi reported (I hope), but we know secondary pieces were the issue that scuttled the deal, so it was never going to be just JDL for Dozier. We also now know just how high the Twins were aiming in terms of return for Dozier, and the common theme of all the reports seems to be the inclusion or exclusion of Alvarez making the difference.
If that was the case, and I think it was, then the Dodgers likely made the right choice in passing on Dozier and taking the deal for Logan Forsythe instead.