Welcome to the Blue - Wood, Johnson, Peraza, Avilan and Arroyo! The Trades are Done!

It's done!  It is finally done!

As it turns out, it isn't a 3-way deal after all.  The Dodgers first put together a trade with the Marlins featuring Mat Matos and Michael Morse.  Go here to see my post from yesterday on that one; including some fantasy Baseball cards celebrating the transaction.  The three Dodger prospects going to Miami are Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham and Kevin Guzman.

The Braves trade (and the purpose of this post) includes eight players changing teams - five of them to Los Angeles.  Per the Dodgers press release:

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.

So, the rumored 2016 draft slot bandied about yesterday plays no part in either the Marlins or Braves trade.  (Apparently, the above is incorrect, or so I've read.  The Dodger press releases made no mention of a 2015 draft pick, and in fact they sent out two separate press releases for the trades - one dealing with Miami and another dealing with Atlanta.  But everyone seems to still be reporting that Atlanta did get Miami's draft pick, so I guess I'll just accept that?)  For some detailed analysis on both trades check out the links below:

• Via Chris Mitchell at FanGraphs, "Projecting All the Prospects in the Latos/Wood Trade."
• Chad Moriyama at Dodgers Digest, "Dodgers manage to upgrade rotation, bullpen, farm for cash in reported 3-team trade."
• Via Dave Cameron at FanGraphs, "Dodgers Upgrade Rotation in Unexpected, Intelligent Way."
• Steven Martano at Beyond the Boxscore, "Dodgers add depth to rotation trading for Alex Wood among others."

Overall, I like what the Dodger front office has done.  They basically traded some lower level prospects including a better than decent Zach Bird, an oft-injured lefty reliever in Paco and a 30-year old Cuban prospect in Olivera (highly touted, mind you, but old) for two starting pitchers who will slot in nicely into our rotation, a nice infield prospect, two relievers and a couple of high dollar'd has-been's.  Basically, we took in a bunch of unwanted contracts to solidify the rotation and bullpen.  Heck, we even got a prospect and a potential right-handed off-the-bench power bat in Morse (he was valuable for the Giants last year).  Although, it does appear likely that Morse and/or Arroyo will be released.

A negative is seeing Paco Rodriguez leave the franchise.  I really liked that kid.  It's also disappointing that we won't have a chance to see that Hector Olivera can do for us.  Nevertheless, we got a whole bunch for very little.  That's assuming you consider the Dodgers spending wads of cash no big deal.

As for not getting a top-line starter like Price or Hamels... Well, I'm a bit disappointed, but not angry.  We probably could've gotten Hamels (considering what they got), but Price ended up being way too expensive.  Detroit made out like a bandit in their trade with Toronto. 

In celebration of the Dodgers adding these five new players (some of whom may never actually wear Dodger Blue) I made the below fantasy Baseball cards in honor.  Check them out below.  I've also included some information about each of them, as well.

Alex Wood is probably the crown jewel of the trade for the Dodgers.  He was basically the staff ace for a bad Braves team, and will fit in nicely in the middle of our rotation.

From the Dodger press release:

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.

Below are Woods's career stats, via Baseball-Reference:

Adding Jim Johnson to the bullpen can only be a good thing.  He's a right-handed reliever with plenty of experience and past success.

From the Dodger press release:

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.

Below are Johnson's career stats, via Baseball-Reference:

Luis Avilan is a lefty reliever.

From the Dodger press release:

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.

Below are Avilan's career stats, via Baseball-Reference:

Peraza is probably the best prospect that changed hands (not including the Cuban Hector Olivera).  He's fast and is basically a new version of a young Dee Gordon.  Per Chris Mitchell at FanGraphs:

Peraza excels in the speed and contact departments, but provides very little when it comes hitting for power and drawing walks.

From the Dodger press release:

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.

Below are Peraza's career stats, via Baseball-Reference:

Not only has Arroyo not ever worn a Braves uniform (he came to them this past June in a salary-dump trade with the Diamondbacks), but he is unlikely to ever wear Dodger Blue either.  Bronson Arroyo is currently on the DL, and has a $4.5Mil buyout on his contract for next season. 

From the Dodger press release:

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).

Below are Arroyo's career stats, via Baseball-Reference:

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