It’s official: Dodgers rebuild rotation with 13-player trade
Left-hander Alex Wood will make an immediate impact for the Dodgers’ starting pitching depth.
Dealing with multiple teams for trades is tricky, and clearly a prolonged process.
But Thursday afternoon the Dodgers finally made all that trade speculation from the previous day official, pulling off a three-way deal with Atlanta and Miami that involved 13 players.
There was no superstar added to their rotation, but the Dodgers picked up two helpful and needed arms to leave them a solid starting five.
There was money exchanged in the two deals and the minor leaguers are mostly unfamiliar, but most importantly to the Dodgers is they upgraded their rotation at a relatively modest cost.
Coming from the Marlins is right-hander Mat Latos, infielder/outfielder Mike Morse and cash; arriving from the Braves is left-hander Alex Wood, right-handed reliever Jim Johnson, left-handed reliever Luis Avilan, minor league infielder Jose Peraza, right-hander Bronson Arroyo and cash.
The Dodgers sent Cuban Hector Olivera, who they signed to a $62.5-million deal in May, left-handed reliever Paco Rodriguez and minor-league pitcher Zach Bird to the Braves. The Marlins got minor league right-handers Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham and Kevin Guzman, all second-tier Dodgers prospects. The Braves received a competitive first-round draft pick from Miami.
That’s right, the Dodgers received cash and not the draft pick.
Latos and Wood are expected to immediately join Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Brett Anderson in the rotation. This is serious improvement over Carlos Frias and Mike Bolsinger, who had been filling in for the injured Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu, both out for the season after surgery.
The Dodgers will reportedly pick up the remainder of Olivera’s $28-million signing bonus. More cost came with Morse, a player they don’t really need, who is owed $8 million next season. He could be moved or even designated for assignment, so it’s not like the Dodgers weren’t still exercising their financial muscle.
Latos can become a free agent at the end of the season, but Wood is under team control for four more years. Arroyo had Tommy John surgery a year ago.
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