Dodgers bolster pitching in deal with Braves, Marlins

Hector Olivera was one of those casualties as he was sent to the Atlanta Braves in the three team deal with the Miami Marlins that also included a bus full of other players.

The key components of the blockbuster deal were right-hander Mat Latos (from Miami) lefty Alex Wood and infield prospect Jose Peraza (both from Atlanta), who all ended up in Los Angeles.

Interestingly, the Braves sent one of their highly regarded prospects – infielder Jose Peraza – back to the Dodgers.

Also dealt: Left-handed reliever Paco Rodriguez and minor-league pitchers Zach Bird, Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham and Kevin Guzman. Latos, a proven starter, gives them a mid- to back-end option behind aces Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw, and is expected to be joined by a top pitcher ( David Price, possibly) before Friday’s trade deadline.

“To sit here having addressed the biggest areas of need for us in terms of rotation and bullpen, while adding future pieces and preserving the top guys in our farm system, that’s a really good outcome”, said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations.

The return the Atlanta Braves will receive from Los Angeles is somewhat underwhelming at first glance. Latos is making $9.5 million this season and is scheduled to be a free agent in 2016, and Morse is in the first year of a two-year, $16 million contract. This trade is sure to initially leave a sour taste in the mouths of Braves fans everywhere. Getting that type of player for only $6-7 million a year over the next four-plus years would be great, obviously, and maybe he has that kind of potential. The obvious question is: who takes over Atlanta’s ninth-inning role? And maybe because the Braves, seeing Wood’s complicated delivery and knowing he had Tommy John surgery while at Georgia, weren’t certain he’s built to last.

Los Angeles will acquire some much-needed pitching depth in this deal.

Also, to make room on the 40-man roster for all the new guys, the Dodgers basically said goodbye to the following players by designating them for assignment: Morse, Brandon Beachy, Chris Heisey and Chin-hui Tsao. His numbers while hurling at Dodger Stadium are respectable, as Latos sports a 3.34 ERA in six starts at Chavez Ravine despite a lifetime 1-5 record at the park. One is of course that they are extremely high on Cuban infielder Hector Olivera.

Though there are bound to be some rocky moments over the closing months of the season, the Braves are happy to embrace the role of spoiler and try to improve as they focus on 2016. They’re not as familiar with him over there, just like the NL wasn’t as familiar with him previous year.

Alex Guerrero, and Enrique Hernandez could as well play a variety of positions (second base, shortstop, or third base) besides in the outfield. “500 and not performing the way we felt this team is capable of performing”.

“You look out onto the market and it’s just tough to find those bats”, Hart said. “The fact that they paid the signing bonus, we feel that this is going to give us the opportunity to go do more things to build the club”.