Allen Lieu
DODGERS COMPLETE EIGHT-PLAYER TRADE WITH BRAVES
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today acquired left-handed pitcher Alex Wood, right-handed reliever Jim Johnson, left-handed reliever Luis Avilan, minor league infielder Jose Peraza, right-handed pitcher Bronson Arroyo and cash considerations from Atlanta in exchange for infielder Hector Olivera, left-handed reliever Paco Rodriguez and minor league right-handed pitcher Zach Bird.
Wood, 24, has gone 21-20 with a 3.10 ERA in 86 games (55 starts) in three big league seasons with the Braves, including a 7-6 mark with a 3.54 ERA in 20 starts this year. Since making his big league debut in 2013, Wood ranks among the NL leaders (min. 350.0 IP) in ERA (9th) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.12, 15th), while posting a 47.7 groundball percentage and forcing an average of 1.03 groundball double plays per 9.0 innings (4th). The North Carolina native was selected in the second round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Georgia and quickly ascended to the Majors, while posting a 9-5 record with a 1.68 ERA in 26 minor league starts over three seasons.
Johnson, 32, has gone 2-3 with nine saves and a 2.25 ERA in 49 games with Atlanta this year in his 10th big league season. The 2012 All-Star and Rolaids Relief Man Award winner has a 25-31 career record with 133 saves and a 3.45 ERA with the Orioles (2006-13), Athletics (2014), Tigers (2014) and Braves (2015). He was one of the American League’s top closers in 2012-13, topping the American League in saves in consecutive seasons and posting back-to-back 50-save seasons with the Orioles. He was originally selected by Baltimore in the fifth round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft out of Union-Endicott (NY) High School.
Avilan, 26, has a 12-5 record with a 2.77 ERA in 218 career games in four big league seasons with Atlanta from 2012-15, limiting opponents to a .225 batting average and posting a 1.16 WHIP. He has appeared in a team-high 50 games this year, going 2-4 with a 3.58 ERA, while limiting opponents to a .245 average. Avilan was signed by the Braves as a free agent in 2005 out of Venezuela.
Peraza, 21, has a .303 career batting average with 203 steals, eight home runs and 178 RBI in 439 games over seven seasons in the Braves’ minor league system, including a .294 mark with 26 stolen bases, three homers and 37 RBI in 96 games this year with Triple-A Gwinnett. Entering the 2015 season, he was rated by Baseball America as the No. 54 overall prospect in baseball after earning selections as a MiLB.com Atlanta organization All-Star in 2013-14 and to the MLB All-Star Futures Game in 2014, when he ranked third among all minor leaguers with 60 steals. He was originally signed by the Braves in 2010 as a free agent out of Venezuela.
Arroyo, 38, last pitched on June 15, 2014 before undergoing Tommy John surgery on July 15, 2014. The 2006 All-Star has gone 145-131 with a 4.19 ERA in 405 games (369 starts) in 15 Major League seasons with the Pirates (2000-02), Red Sox (2003-05), Reds (2006-13) and D-backs (2014).
Olivera, 30, has hit .348 with two homers and seven RBI in 19 games in the Dodgers’ minor league system following his signing on May 19. Prior to joining the Dodgers, he played 10 professional seasons from 2003-14 with Santiago in Cuba and has a .323 career batting average with 96 home runs and 433 RBI, appearing primarily at first base and second base.
Rodriguez, 24, had surgery on July 2 to remove loose bodies in the back of his elbow and posted a 2.61 ERA in 18 games with the Dodgers this year. He went 4-5 with a 2.53 ERA in 124 games with Los Angeles from 2012-15 following his selection in the second round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida.
Bird, 21, is tied for seventh in the California League with 95 strikeouts and went 5-7 with a 4.75 ERA in 19 games (17 starts) with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga this year. He has a 16-35 career record with a 4.74 ERA in 83 games (71 starts) in four minor league seasons after being selected by the Dodgers in the ninth round of the 2012 draft out of Murrah High School in Mississippi.
This is the second multi-player deal the Dodgers have completed with the Braves this year, following a six-player trade on May 27, when Los Angeles acquired infielder Alberto Callaspo, left-handed reliever Ian Thomas, minor league right-handed pitcher Juan Jaime and left-handed pitcher Eric Stults from Atlanta in exchange for infielder Juan Uribe and right-handed pitcher Chris Withrow.
