Dodgers bolster pitching in deal with Braves, Marlins
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 today, 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.
Reported trade never happened
NEW YORK — Terry Collins continued his anti-social media rant and tried to employ damage control less than a day after the manager found himself in the position of explaining why he seemed to be the only one unaware that the Mets were on the verge of trading infielder Wilmer Flores and injured pitcher Zack Wheeler to the Brewers for center fielder Carlos Gomez.
Flores was openly weeping at shortstop during Wednesday night’s game as word circulated, incorrectly as it turned out, on Twitter that the deal had been completed. Fans applauded him in what they assumed would be his last at-bat.
Collins said there was no disconnect between him and general manager Sandy Alderson over the deal, which reportedly fell apart when the Mets had concerns over medical reports on Gomez, who instead was traded to the Astros on Thursday.
“My boss, if that was a done deal would have called me,” Collins said Thursday before an afternoon 8-7 loss to the Padres. “Because we would have gotten him [Flores] out of there. So, that would have been a giveaway years ago that you would have taken this guy out of the game in the middle of the game. That would have been a giveaway that something was up.”
Asked if he could have been given more information during the game, Collins replied, “Absolutely not. Believe me, Sandy and I were with each other yesterday two hours and that’s why I said if there was a deal I would have known. And if the deal would have been finalized, I would have known. That’s what I kept trying to tell everybody. I had David [Wright] coming over and he said ‘Hey, it’s everywhere, this is a done deal.’ I said ‘Until that phone rings right there it’s not done in my mind.’”
Before social media, Collins said, “The way it went down last night (Alderson would) have come in and said ‘look we thought we had a deal, it didn’t work out,’ no harm no foul and moved on. Unfortunately, we live in a different world today, which I certainly understand it, as I tried to explain. You guys think they are cold-hearted robotic people. They’re not. They got emotions. This kid loves it here. He’s a Met, he’s been a Met since he was 16. You know what, he was thrilled that the fans, the same fans who booed him, were giving him a standing ovation. I think it’s a tribute to our fans. The fact that they respect the player and what he stands for.”