Atlanta Braves bolster rotation, acquire Trevor Cahill from Diamondbacks

The Atlanta Braves added some much needed pitching depth, acquiring ground-ball specialist Trevor Cahill from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night.

With left-hander Mike Minor set to start the season on the disabled list with shoulder tightness, the Atlanta Braves found themselves down a starter with just days to go before the regular season began. They addressed that need on Thursday with a trade for Arizona Diamondbacks starter Trevor Cahill, per Nick Piecoro of AZ Central.

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In the deal, the Arizona will also send $6.5 million to offset some of Cahill’s $12 million salary for 2015, as noted by Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. The Braves will send outfield prospect Josh Elander to the Diamondbacks to complete the trade.

For the Atlanta Braves, Trevor Cahill is a bit of a risk. As a team that has been bitten by injuries to its starting rotation in recent years, the acquisition of Cahill is a bit perplexing. Over the last two seasons, the right-hander has made just 42 starts and thrown a meager 257.1 innings combined since 2012. After some ineffective stretches last season, Cahill was relegated to the bullpen which also begs the question of whether or not he can solve the Braves rotation needs.

Overall, Trevor Cahill owns a 64-69 record and a 4.07 ERA over 6 seasons split between the Oakland Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks. However, Cahill does have some upside that could play well for the Atlanta Braves, in particular his ability to generate ground balls, which he has done at a clip of 54.6% over the course of his MLB career. With a solid infield defense behind him, including all-world shortstop Andrelton Simmons, Cahill could see his peripheral stats benefit dramatically.

In return for Cahill’s services, the Braves are sending outfield prospect Josh Elander to Arizona. A former 6th round pick for Atlanta, Elander was the Braves Organizational Player of the Year for 2013, but fell on hard times as he adjusted to the higher levels of the minors in 2014. The outfielder appeared in just 37 games last season at High-A Lynchburg, hitting just .219/.319/.328. Now at 24-years-old, Elander is a bit old in the tooth for the level he’ll start 2015 at, but the Diamondbacks have the outfield depth available to give him some time to catch-up.

Of course, the return of Elander for Cahill is a far cry from the strength of package they shipped to Oakland for Cahill in 2011. In that deal, the Diamondbacks sent Ryan Cook, Collin Cowgill, and Jarrod Parker to the A’s. Parker finished 5th in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting in 2013, but has been shelved by Tommy John surgery this season. Meanwhile, Cook was an All-Star reliever in 2012 and has been an integral part to Oakland’s bullpen each of the last three seasons.

(h/t MLB Trade Rumors)

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