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2015 Trade Deadline: Will Alex Wood Succeed With The Dodgers?

By Mike Marteny

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The Dodgers’ acquisition of Mat Latos was apparently put on hold to involve a third team, the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are sending young left hander Alex Wood the Dodgers. The rest of the trade looks like this:

The Marlins’ compensatory pick is heading to Atlanta, making this a three team deal. The perplexing thing about this deal is the youngsters flying around in this deal.  Wood, Bird, Rodriguez, and Peraza are all 24 or younger.

Wood gives the Dodgers another left handed starter that they wanted. They bowed out of the Cole Hamels sweepstakes since they weren’t willing to give up top prospects Julio Urias or Corey Seager. They ended up landing two quality arms in Wood and Mat Latos, along will bullpen help, without giving up any of their top prospects (Bird is number 15 in the Dodgers system). This has to be considered a win for the Dodgers.

But what does it mean for our fantasy teams? Wood was 7-6 with a 3.54 ERA, but a 1.41 WHIP in 20 starts with the Braves. Wood’s ERA likely won’t see much of a change in LA, but his win total should go up. You likely won’t get to buy Wood very low, but he is worth trying to acquire at market value. Him being the number four or five starter could take a lot of the pressure on him and cause him to pitch better. He is worth taking a chance on.

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    • Jim Johnson will go from the interim closer in Atlanta to the seventh inning guy in L.A. This is a disaster for his fantasy value. However, if your league counts holds, it is not a total loss. The role vacated by Johnson will likely be taken by Arodys Vizcaino or Jason Frasor. If you are desperate for saves, whoever gets the job is worth a look. Paco Rodriguez could get a look whenever he returns from his elbow injury, but the Braves certainly aren’t going to hurry him back.

    Luis Avilan will likely pitch in the sixth or seventh inning with the Dodgers, and will only have value in leagues that count holds. That said, he is further down the pecking order with Johnson, Joel Peralta, and Kenley Jansen in the bullpen. There are better options for holds out there.

    With Jace Peterson and Andrelton Simmons manning the middle infield positions in Atlanta, their top prospect Jose Peraza was blocked at both of his positions at the major league level. Now he heads to a situation where he is not only blocked in the majors by Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick, but there is no way he will be a priority over Corey Seager.

    Peraza would be a fantasy asset if he had a place to play. The addition of him in this deal is a big head scratcher. It could light a fire under the struggling Jimmy Rollins (J-Rol is hitting just .210 on the season), but is that worth paying for?

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    • Hector Olivera was signed as a Cuban free agent only about a month ago by the Dodgers, and could be in the majors for the Braves very soon. The likely spot for him would be supplanting Chris Johnson at third base. It is not his natural position, but he has played there before in Cuba. In 19 minor league games, Olivera is hitting .348 with two homers and seven RBI. He could help out your standard league team if given a shot with the Braves, so keep a close eye on this situation.

    Zachary Bird is a wild card in every sense. He has good raw talent, but he has struggled with control and mechanics. He is 5-7 with a 4.75 ERA at high-A Rancho Cucamonga, and he led the minor leagues with 17 losses last year. However, if he can harness his stuff, he could be a successful major league pitcher. He will not be an asset in fantasy for at least another three years, maybe longer.

    This trade is not official yet, and as we saw with the Carlos Gomez to the Mets deal Wednesday night, there is a chance that it might not happen.

    ***UPDATE*** Bronson Arroyo is moving from the Braves to the Dodgers in this deal as well. Arroyo could be the number five starter for a beat up Dodgers rotation or a valuable bullpen arm. If he does land a few starts for the Dodgers, he could be a suitable streaming option because of his chance at a win.

    Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for the fantasy impact of all of the deadline deals! It has been a busy one so far!

    Next: Should You Buy On Mat Latos?

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