Rebuilding Braves caught up in trade winds
This could be the wackiest baseball trading deadline in recent memory.
Quite simply the biggest deal before Thursday made eyes pop and proved even the iconic game show “Jeopardy!” wrong.
After Troy Tulowitzki, who is the game’s best offensive shortstop, was traded to Toronto, a “Jeopardy!” clue Wednesday night with the question being “Who are the Colorado Rockies?” was correct and incorrect all in the same moment. Go figure. The trade deadline is 4 p.m. today, and all the moving pieces so far would be staggering — and that was even before the action of Thursday.
There was Tulowitzki on the move and the Nationals grabbing closer Jonathan Papelbon. There were the Royals, who added Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist.
The big one late Wednesday night was the Texas Rangers landing Philadelphia ace Cole Hamels, who is signed through the 2018 season. Texas is not contending this year but made the move for the long haul, which seems pretty sharp.
At some point if you want to contend, you are going to have to have a couple of top-line starting pitchers, and when Yu Darvish returns from injury, the Rangers will have that.
And then Thursday happened and the moves picked up speed.
Left-handed ace David Price was moved to Toronto, which added the best position player and the best starting pitcher on the market.
Then, closer to home, the Atlanta Braves got involved, moving a large chunk of the 13 players in a three-team deal Thursday. Here’s the breakdown:
The Los Angeles Dodgers received Mat Latos and Michael Morse from the Miami Marlins, plus pitchers Alex Wood, Jim Johnson, Bronson Arroyo and Luis Avilan, along with infield prospect Jose Peraza, from the Braves.
The Braves received infield prospect Hector Olivera, minor league pitcher Zachary Bird and major league lefty Paco Rodriguez. They also get a competitive balance draft pick (No. 34 overall) from the Marlins.
The Marlins received three minor league pitchers from the Dodgers: right-handers Jeff Brigham, Victor Araujo and Kevin Guzman.
The Braves are stocked with young pitchers, and Wood is certainly a valuable piece. He’s 24, left-handed and in three big-league seasons — 86 games, 55 starts — he has a 3.10 career earned run average. His stay in L.A. was rumored to be shortlived as the Dodgers were pursuing Price before Detroit dealt him to the Blue Jays.
The Braves are supremely high on Olivera and offered him more than $40 million when he hit the open market last winter. L.A. signed the Cuban for $65 million, including a $28 million signing bonus that already has been paid. He is a notable upgrade over Peraza.
The appearance of parting with Wood is more painful in perception than in reality. The Braves have stockpiled young arms with every deal they have made, and now they are dealing from a position of strength.
They also are dealing Wood at the apex of his value.
Yes, he’s 24 with an ERA around 3, but he already has had one Tommy John surgery, and his awkward delivery poses serious concern about his long-term health. Plus, his velocity has dropped noticeably in the last year and opponents are hitting better than .280 against him.
So the Braves’ complete reconstruction now takes another turn. They obviously believe Olivera, even at 30, can be the third baseman for the rebuild. He is a consistent hitter with extrabase power, and he comes at a discount after the Dodgers paid his signing bonus.
And at this point, after this many successful moves focused on the mission to overhaul the organization, Atlanta general manager John Hart has earned the benefit of the doubt.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter at @jgreesontfp.