The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hefty price for prospect
Braves trade starter Alex Wood (right), closer Jim Johnson and more to land Cuban Hector Olivera, who’s yet to play in majors.
Four months after being outbid for Cuban free agent Hector Olivera by the deep-pockets Dodgers, the Braves will get him at a reduced rate. But the overall price is nonetheless significant.
In a complicated three-team trade with the Dodgers and Marlins, the Braves gave the Dodgers left-handed starter Alex Wood, relievers Jim Johnson and Luis Avilan, and top prospect Jose Peraza. Olivera, 30, is coming to Atlanta from the Dodgers with injured left-handed reliever Paco Rodriguez and middling minor-league pitcher Zachary Bird.
Since the Braves still lack top-tier hitting prospects in the highest lev-
els of their minor-league system, they opted to acquire what they believe to be an impact hitter by trading for him from a position of strength — pitching.
“As we start to retool this offense, this is the first building block, I think,” Braves president of baseball operations John Hart said Thursday. “Look, we just don’t have the upper-level bats that are in the system. We’re going to have to be creative in how we bring in some of these guys. …
“I love Alex Wood. I do. He’s a young pitcher, left-handed, there’s a lot to like about Alex Wood. There’s a lot to like about Jose Peraza, We quite frankly didn’t feel, with our people, that Jose was going to be ready to step in and play second base next year.”
Two other key components of the deal for the Braves: They get the Marlins’ competitive-balance Round A pick in next year’s draft (35th overall selection) and sent Bronson Arroyo on the Dodgers, getting out from under part of Arroyo’s $9.5 million salary this season and the $4.5 million buyout of his $11 million option for 2016.
Arroyo, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, came from Arizona as an add-on whom the Braves had to take in order to acquire pitching prospect Touki Toussaint in a June 20 trade.
In the three-team deal finalized Thursday, the Dodgers also got starting pitcher Mat Latos and first baseman Michael Morse from Miami, while the Marlins received three minor league pitchers (Kevin Guzman, Jeff Brigham, Victor Araujo) from the Dodgers.
Perhaps the most surprising inclusion was Wood, 24, who is 21-20 with a 3.10 ERA in 86 games during parts of three seasons in the majors with 337 strikeouts and 108 walks in 368⅔ innings. That includes a 3.09 ERA in 55 starts.
A second-round pick out of the University of Georgia, Wood was under contractual control for four more seasons.
Johnson has had a strong season (2.25 ERA) after signing a one-year, $1.6 million contract with the Braves, serving as a setup man and most recently as closer. The departure of Johnson and lefty Avilan further depletes a bullpen that has struggled at times.
Peraza turned 21 in April and was regarded as the Braves’ top-rated prospect after the 2014 season. But he was blocked at his original shortstop position by Andrelton Simmons, so the Braves moved Peraza to second base last season and tried him at center field some this year.
The rise of 18-year-old shortstop Ozzie Albies and other young infield prospects turned Peraza’s status from nearly untouchable to expendable rather quickly.
Olivera drew considerable interest from at least eight teams after the former Cuban national team standout defected in September and was declared a free agent in early March. The Dodgers outbid the Giants, Padres, Athletics and Braves, among other teams, giving Olivera a six-year, $62.5 million deal that included a $28 million signing bonus.
The Dodgers are paying his entire signing bonus and the Braves will owe Olivera about $32 million over the remainder of the contract. He can play left field and every infield position except shortstop, although the Braves believe he’s best suited for third base. He hasn’t played in the majors, but could join their lineup soon after his strained hamstring heals. They hope to have him in rehab games in another week to 10 days.
“You look out onto the market and it’s just tough to find those bats,” Hart said. “We don’t want to give up our draft picks (to sign big-ticket free agents). We were able to get a bat that we feel is affordable to us. The fact that they paid the signing bonus, we feel that this is going to give us the opportunity to go do more things to build the club.”