Dodgers acquire pitching help in three-team deal

Miami got three minor leaguers from the Dodgers and sent a draft pick to Atlanta. Luis Avilan and Jim Johnson will bolster the Dodgers bullpen, but they are no threat to closer Kenley Jansen.

The main piece of the deal for Atlanta is Olivera, who they bid big for over the winter before losing out to the Dodgers.

From Dodgers: Jeff Brigham, Victor Araujo, Kevin Guzman and salary relief from dealing Latos and Morse. Command issues, the lack of a consistent third pitch and his size (6-feet, 200 pounds) has many thinking he’ll end up in the bullpen.

First and foremost, it must be noted that numerous names heading to the Dodgers will either be designated for assignment or traded before they can ever officially take a roster spot.

Morse will add another veteran presence on the bench (not to mention a body on a club that’s now pretty dinged up) and will backup Adrian Gonzalez at first. Arroyo, meanwhile, is recovering from Tommy John surgery last summer and is a free agent after this season.

Also, to add insult to injury, John Hart decided to package the Atlanta Braves’ top ranked prospect in Jose Peraza to the Dodgers.

Olivera has impressed in the minors since signing a six-year, $62.5 million deal with Los Angeles this year, hitting a combined. Look out into the market, and it’s tough to find those bats. What began as a two-team trade between the former two has ballooned into a mega-deal with Mat Latos in the center of it all.

It’s a steep price to pay, but it fortifies the Dodgers’ organization through 2019, also giving stability to their rotation in the 2015 season.

Latos, who joined Miami via trade from the Reds in the offseason, is 4-7 with a 4.48 ERA in 16 starts this year.

Wood did see a drastic decline in his strikeout rate (17.7) after sitting at 24.5 in 2014 and opponents were hitting a career-high. Still, at only 27 and finishing a contract year, he is a low-risk option that didn’t take much to pick up in terms of player cost, and still represents an improvement over the platoon of Carlos Frias and a rehabbing Brandon Beachy in the rotation’s 5-hole as they gear up for a stretch run with the San Francisco Giants only a half-game back in the NL West a day before the trade deadline. Also, the Dodgers will be responsible for the remaining $16 million due as part of his $28 million signing bonus.

Zach Bird has had a rough season in Double-A Rancho Cucamonga, having posted a 4.75 ERA in 19 games, having thrown in 89.0 innings with 95 strikeouts. The Los Angeles Dodgers will get both Morse and Latos. Avilan is also controlled, and won’t be eligible for free agency until 2019. Teams were batting. 251 against him so far this season.

Atlanta will receive highly touted Cuban infielder Hector Olivera, Paco Rodriguez and Zachary Bird and a compensation draft pick from the Marlins.

Jose Peraza, INF-OF, Braves to Dodgers: The best-known traditional prospect involved, Peraza is a 21-year-old Venezuelan hitting.294/.318/.379 in 96 games for Gwinnett in the Triple-A worldwide League.