Mat Latos, Alex Wood join Dodger rotation after 13-player, 3-team trade

Luis Avilan has had a rough season out of the Braves bullpen, posting a 3.58 ERA in 50 games, having thrown in 37.2 innings pitched and striking out 31 batters.

“Early, he had some injuries, and that set him back”, Marlins manager Dan Jennings said of Morse. The Dodgers are also landing starter Mat Latos and first baseman Michael Morse. With so much young middle infield talent in the system, the Braves seemingly dealt from a position of strength.

Also coming to Atlanta from Miami is the 34th overall pick in the 2016 draft.

Miami would get three minor-league pitchers from the Dodgers. In fact, the last hurdle that the deal had was allowing the Braves to thoroughly review Olivera’s medical records.

“We’re continuing to have conversations now”, Dodgers President of Baseball Andrew Friedman said Thursday night. “This lined up with something that we felt like addressed some current needs for us”.

“We’re going to try and go forward and win some games”, Gonzalez said.

Hector Olivera, during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

RHP Mat Latos, 27, was reportedly traded to the Dodgers on Friday, although the deal has not yet been officially completed. The Dodgers may not be done.

The teams made a complicated eleven-player deal on Wednesday, though it is not official yet. Peraza was also considered one of the team’s top minor league prospects.

“We really like the player, ” Hart told reporters on a conference call Thursday. “We like the bat”.

Olivera could play second base, third base or even left field in Atlanta, but Braves are more concerned with beefing up their anemic offense. The Marlins? They get out from under the Latos (owed $3.94 million) and Morse (owed $11.5 million) contracts and add prospect depth. Paco Rodriguez, who is now recovering from surgery to clean out loose bodies in his elbow, was a 2nd pick in the 2012 draft and could prove to be the lights-out lefty reliever the Braves have been yearning for.

“Financially, it’s just tough to find those bats”, he said. “He’s affordable for us, and we feel like this is going to give us the opportunity to do more things to build the club”. He is making $9.4 million this year.

Wood is 7-6 this season with a 3.54 ERA.

“It’s been weird”, Morse said after the game but before the trade was announced.

Mike Morse, Brandon Beachy, Chris Heisey and Chin-hui Tsao were all designated for assignment, and relief pitcher Chris Hatcher was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

Accordingly, the Los Angeles Dodgers will gobble about $25.5 million in salary for Latos, who’ll become a free agent this winter, and Morse, who’ll be under team control until 2016.

That plan has been scuttled. He’s received a late start to his minor league career, but has looked solid in his first 19 games by slashing.348/.392/.493 with a pair of home runs and seven RBI.

Again, it’s not the glamorous deal that could’ve been for Tigers’ ace David Price, but acquiring Latos and Alex Wood can serve the team well by bolstering their rotation both in the immediate and distant future.