Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Dodgers bolster pitching in huge deal with Braves, Marlins

Mat Latos

Matt York / AP

In this July 21, 2015, file photo, Miami Marlins starting pitcher Mat Latos throws during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. The first-place Los Angeles Dodgers have bolstered their pitching staff, acquiring from the Marlins and Alex Wood, Jim Johnson and Luis Avilan from the Atlanta Braves in a 13-player deal Thursday, July 30, 2015.

ATLANTA — The first-place Los Angeles Dodgers bolstered their pitching staff on the eve of the trade deadline, completing a 13-player deal with the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins on Thursday that sent two starters and two relievers to the NL West leader.

Clinging to a half-game leader over San Francisco, the Dodgers acquiring right-hander Mat Latos from the Marlins and left-hander Alex Wood from the Braves, two pitchers who can move right into the rotation behind aces Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. Also, Los Angeles obtained relievers Jim Johnson and Luis Avilan from Atlanta, adding needed depth to the bullpen.

The rebuilding Braves kept up their massive overhaul, also surrendering top infield prospect Jose Peraza to the Dodgers largely to land 30-year-old Cuban defector Hector Olivera, who has impressed in the minors since signing a $62.5 million, six-year deal with Los Angeles this year.

As for the Marlins, it was another familiar salary dump. Out of contention in the NL East, Miami rid itself of Latos and first baseman Michael Morse for three minor leaguers.

The deals worked like this:

— The Dodgers got Wood (7-6, 3.54 ERA), Johnson (2-3, 2.25, nine saves), Avilan (2-4, 3.58), Peraza (.294 with 26 stolen bases for Triple-A Gwinnett) and pitcher Bronson Arroyo from the Braves, along with Latos (4-7, 4.48), Morse (.214, four homers, 12 RBIs) and cash considerations from the Marlins. Arroyo is coming back from Tommy John surgery and hasn't pitched this season, his inclusion in the deal mainly a financial benefit to the Braves.

— Atlanta received Olivera, who is hitting a combined .348 with two homers and seven RBIs in 19 games at three different levels of the Dodgers' farm system this season, along with injured left-hander Paco Rodriguez and minor leaguer Zachary Bird, a right-handed pitcher. The Braves also received a draft pick from the Marlins.

— Miami acquired minor league right-handers Kevin Guzman, Jeff Brigham and Victor Araujo from the Dodgers, none of whom has pitched above Class A.

The deadline for making trades without waivers is 4 p.m. EDT Friday, and the Braves may not be done.

Last week, they dealt third baseman Juan Uribe and outfielder Kelly Johnson to the Mets for minor leaguers, having given up on contending for a playoff spot this season while trying to rebuild for the move to their new suburban stadium in 2017. Outfielders Cameron Maybin and Jonny Gomes could be the next to go.

Despite trading Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward and Evan Gattis before the season, Atlanta was surprisingly in contention the first few months of the season. A slide in recent weeks prompted general manager John Hart to dump more players ahead of the deadline.

The deal sending Uribe and Johnson to the Mets wasn't a big surprise, considering they are two veterans in the final year of their contracts. Thursday's trade was different. The Braves gave up a 24-year-old pitcher (Wood) who isn't even eligible for arbitration until 2017 and one of their top prospects, convinced that Olivera can be a key player for years to come — even though he's yet to play in the big leagues and his age makes him an unorthodox prospect.

"We really tried to sign the guy and the Dodgers came in and blew us out of the water financially," Hart said. "We like the player, we like the bat, we like the makeup. This is a guy we felt was major league ready and can come in and hit somewhere in the middle of the order."

Olivera could play second base, third base or left field in Atlanta, but Braves are more concerned with beefing up their anemic offense. Also, the Dodgers will be responsible for the remaining $16 million due as part of his $28 million signing bonus.

But Olivera has battled right elbow problems — leading to a clause in his contract which tacks on another year at just $1 million if he has Tommy John surgery at any time during the next six years. He currently is sidelined by a left hamstring injury.

That wasn't enough to dissuade Hart.

"Financially, it's just tough to find those bats," he said. "We were able to get a bat we feel is affordable for us because of the fact they paid the signing bonus. We feel this is going to give us the opportunity to do more things to build the club."

The Marlins dumped two big contracts on the Dodgers, whose record luxury-tax payroll climbed to $297 million. That would lead to a $43 million assessment at the end of the year under baseball's luxury tax.

Latos is making $9.4 million in the final year of his contact, while Morse is getting $7.5 million this year and is owed another $8.5 million next season.

The Marlins had hoped to contend in the NL East with Latos and Morse, part of an offseason overhaul that included the signing of Giancarlo Stanton to a $325 million, 13-year deal.

That plan has been scuttled. After a 1-0 loss to first-place Washington on Thursday, Miami dropped to 13 games behind the Nationals.

"When I have to sit here and say we've made a trade and we haven't added (immediate help), it means something has not gone right," Marlins President Michael Hill said. "We're 18 games under .500 and not performing the way we felt like this team was capable of performing."

AP freelance writer Aaron Bracy in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

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