Roger Arrieta
The 2015 MLB Trade Deadline frenzy has come and passed, and several teams made big splashes. To my disappointment, Cole Hamels went to the Texas Rangers, not to the Dodgers. Also, in no particular order-the Blue Jays went all-in, acquiring Troy Tulowitzki, David Price, Ben Revere and Mark Lowe. The Astros got Scott Kazmir, Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. The Mets got Cespedes and Clippard, and the Royals got Johnny Cueto. The rival Giants added Mike Leake, and Baltimore received Gerardo Parra.
But Friedman, Zaidi and the Dodgers were also big winners at the trade deadline. Unlike several other clubs previously mentioned, L.A. gave up zero top prospects and not a single player from the current MLB roster, while receiving back two solid mid-rotation starting pitchers and two proven relief pitchers to bolster the pitching staff in preparation for the stretch run.
To recap, the Dodgers sent Cuban infielder Hector Olivera, injured lefty reliever Paco Rodriguez, minor league pitcher Zachary Bird to Atlanta, and three lower level pitching prospects to Miami. The return from the Marlins included power righty veteran Mat Latos from the Marlins and utility bench bat in Michael Morse, but the Dodgers quickly shipped Morse over to the Pirates for minor league outfielder Jose Tabata.
The haul from Atlanta included crafty lefty starter Alex Wood, relievers Jim Johnson and Luis Avilan. In addition, the Dodgers also received infielder prospect Jose Peraza, and agreed to pick up a portion of Bronson Arroyo’s contract as part of the deal from the Braves. The front office has flexed their financial muscle by taking on a bunch of low and mid-level contracts from less resourced organizations like the Braves and Marlins, in exchange for baseball talent. The new Dodgers regime is utilizing the loads of cash at their disposal to leverage trades that benefit the club in the short and long term simultaneously.
At first glance, Mat Latos’ overall season numbers indicate mediocre performance thus far, especially the 4.48 ERA. But since his return from the disabled list with left knee inflammation, Latos has surged, posting a 2.98 ERA. In this span of just over 45 innings, Latos gave up only 15 earned runs and 33 hits; with a fantastic strikeout-to-walk ratio of 43:9. And in July he was even more impressive, with a 1.80 ERA in 20 innings, giving up only four runs and eleven hits, while striking out 19 batters and walking only three. His recent upward trend should give Dodgers faithful reason for excitement moving forward. Latos is also in a free-agency contract year, so he has a lot (of money) to play for and a lot to prove.
Alex Wood may eventually prove to become the prized piece of this this mid-summer deadline deal. The 6’4 lefty out of the University of Georgia is only 24 years old, and is locked into his contract until possibly 2019. In less than three full seasons in the show, Wood has a nice 3.10 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio better than 3:1. He doesn’t throw with great velocity, yet, but he keeps the ball in the zone and has been developing a nice arsenal of off-speed pitches to keep hitters off balance. The key word is developing, as the Dodgers hope to groom Wood into a long-term successful starting pitcher, with the help of All-Stars Kershaw, Greinke, Grandal, and the experience of pitching coach Rick Honeycutt.
Jim Johnson should fill the void of right-handed veteran reliever that the Dodgers have been lacking in the middle of the bullpen since losing the likes of Brandon League and Chris Hatcher to injuries. After his 2012 All-Star season, the 32 year-old struggled to regain his form last season, finishing with a 7.09 ERA. Fortunately, 2015 has been a year of resurgence for him-posting a 2.25 ERA, while giving up only 12 earned runs in 45 innings. Johnson is expected to slide into the ‘pen as a possible set-up man in front of closer Kenley Jansen, and behind middle relievers Baez, Nicasio, Peralta, Howell and Avilan.
Luis Avilan, aka “L.A,” (I just named him that) is a 26-year old left-handed relief specialist from Caracas, Venezuela. His season ERA appears less than effective at 3.58, but his career numbers are strong, with a 2.77 ERA, as he has surrendered just 56 earned runs in 182 total innings. He has also only thrown 37.2 innings this year so far, so there’s much work to be done against the elite left-handed bats in the league. This was a nice pickup that addressed another need for L.A, as Avilan will replace Paco Rodriguez as the second lefty in the bullpen behind veteran J.P. Howell.
In my last piece I made the argument that Cole Hamels should have been the primary focus for Friedman and Zaidi at the deadline, but with the reality of Philadelphia demanding multiple top prospects in return, that deal never came to fruition. The Phillies received a nice haul back from the Rangers, as they finally released Hamels to a possible contender for the remaining of his contract. Many executives and baseball writers believe that the Dodgers would have had to part ways with either teenage lefty starter phenom Julio Urias, or emerging future star shortstop Corey Seager in order to land Hamels.
In conclusion, the Dodgers are in a favorable position now, having re-charged their pitching staff without pillaging their farm system. No ace at the deadline, no problem. The L.A. rotation already has two, Kershaw and Greinke. For now at least. And the trade with Atlanta now gives the organization four of the top premium, young, left handed pitchers in the National League that are under contract for a significant period of time: Clayton Kershaw, Hyun Jin Ryu, Alex Wood, and Julio Urias. The front office did their job re-tooling the roster. Now it’s time for the boys in blue to get it done on the field. No excuses.
Author: Emilio Lacques-Zapien Twitter: @EmilioLZ323
