The Dodgers on Thursday officially acquired right-hander Bud Norris, minor league outfielder Dian Toscano, a player to be named later and cash considerations from the Braves in exchange for minor league right-hander Caleb Dirks and minor league lefty Phil Pfeifer. Norris should step right into an injury-plagued rotation that saw Clayton Kershaw hit the disabled list with a back injury earlier today. Norris last pitched on June 26, so he could start in place of Kershaw tomorrow.
[Related: Updated Los Angeles Dodgers depth chart]
Norris, 31, began the season in the Atlanta rotation and pitched dreadfully throughout the month of April, logging an ERA just under 9.00 and losing his spot in the rotation. However, Norris made some alterations while working out of the bullpen and forced his way back into the Atlanta rotation, and he’s been a revelation since. As Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan recently examined, Norris ditched an ineffective changeup for a cutter that has been scintillating since its adoption, and the results have been stunning. In 29 1/3 innings since rejoining the rotation, Norris has pitched to a 2.15 ERA with a 29-to-8 K/BB ratio and an enormous 59.2 percent ground-ball rate. Overall, since losing his rotation spot in late April, Norris holds a 2.08 ERA in 47 1/3 innings.
While finances are rarely of concern for the Dodgers, they’re particularly negligible in the case of Norris, who inked a one-year, $2.5MM contract with Atlanta this offseason. Of that sum, Norris is still owed about $1.3MM through the end of the season. Toscano, meanwhile, is owed $1.3MM in 2016, $1.5MM in 2017 and $1.5MM in 2018 plus a $200K buyout of a $1.7MM option for the 2019 season. The outfielder, signed out of Cuba a couple of years ago, had already been removed from the Braves’ 40-man roster, so presumably the Dodgers have agreed to take on some of that salary in order to entice the Braves to part with Norris and the PTBNL.
The Dodgers essentially have an entire rotation on the disabled list, as Kershaw is joined there by Alex Wood, Brett Anderson, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-jin Ryu. Norris will join healthy starters Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias and Brock Stewart in the L.A. rotation, though that group figures to be thinned once again when Urias is shut down for a time following the All-Star break. Then again, the Dodgers’ hope is that Kershaw can return following the Midsummer Classic, so in a best-case scenario they’ll swap Kershaw out for Urias following the break.
Dirks, 23, was a 15th-round pick by the Braves back in 2014 but was traded to the Dodgers last summer for international slot money. He currently ranks 30th among their prospects in the eyes of MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo and will now return to the organization that originally selected him out of the draft. Dirks has a 1.44 ERA and a stellar 35-to-7 K/BB ratio through 31 1/3 innings out of the ’pen for the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate in Tulsa this season. Callis and Mayo write that Dirks has a fastball with good sink that sits in the low 90s and tops out around 94 mph as well as a slider in the low 80s that grades out as an average pitch. The MLB.com duo notes that the Dodgers “love” Dirks’ competitive streak and ability to handle high leverage situations, adding that he could be a setup man in the Majors if everything clicks.
Pfeifer, also 23, was Los Angeles’ third-round pick just last season. He’s split the year between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, where he’s worked to a 2.67 ERA with 42 strikeouts against 18 walks in 30 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
The Braves signed Toscano, now 27, out of Cuba prior to the 2015 season. Visa issues significantly delayed his arrival to the Braves’ organization even after his signing, and he was outrighted off the 40-man roster last year. Toscano was once looked at as having the upside of a fourth outfielder, but he’s batted just .226/.310/.271 in 203 plate appearances for Atlanta’s Double-A affiliate this season.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that Norris was going to Los Angeles (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Dirks and Pfeifer were in the deal (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Tristan Thompson??? A guy can dream right?
Not sure how LeBron would feel about that.
Ha!
You mean Trayce Thompson? I’m pretty sure Tristan Thompson is on the Cavs.
And klay and trayce arent related to tristian. Least, i dont think so.
*face palm* AAARRRGEJPAIDoirnkgjmdc,
To many Thompson’s to remember
Grats Bud! You earned it (the second time around).
For what?
De Jong?
Alex Wood lol
Another worthless scrub, way to go Zaidi.
Exactly @horrorluvr what a joke
This worthless scrub might be the hottest pitcher in the league over the past couple months…
Yea, but not every GM is Dave Stewart.
He’s almost as far as being a “worthless scrub” as being the “hottest pitcher in the league over the past couple of months” — it’s ok to be neither and still bring value to both sides.
Not worthless, just too little too late.
Yeah we would’ve been so much better off keeping Bud for 4 months. /sarcasm
it has to be a pitcher going back that’s all they get in trades
The Braves sure have cornered the market on pitching…
….and the sky is blue.
welcome back to the Braves Caleb Dirks … not a bad haul with Pfeifer for Norris
Actually a pretty good return for a guy nobody wanted to touch a couple months ago and is now getting value based off of a 5 start hot streak.
It’s a good thing we plan to use a pitcher at every position. When are we going to acquire an impact bat, we can have the best pitching in the world but if we can’t score a run it doesn’t matter
The Braves weren’t going to get an impact bat for Norris. The next impact bats the Braves acquire for their system will likely be acquired during their international spending (in a couple days).
This is an interesting trade for ATL and LAD — particularly they’re getting cash and a PTBNL in addition to Dian Toscano who was bound to never live up to hype. I like we’re getting 2 high-upside arms, including (Dirks) whom we traded with Jordan Paroubeck in 2015.
HIgh upside arms? They are both relievers.
Doesn’t seem like high upside to me.
2 high upside arms?
Both pitchers are relievers. I don’t know how high the upside can be when they are relievers. But good spin I guess.
With a bullpen that has been garbage outside of Viz, relievers are obviously necessary.
I don’t necessarily have the same optimism as Callis and Mayo, but Atlanta acquiring a potential set up man and a recent third round pick sounds like high upside given that it was the return for dealing a journeyman on a one-year deal and an overpaid organizational depth piece.
Don’t be an idiot buddy
Why are you in such a rush? If we acquired Trout and Machado we wouldn’t compete this year so let the Atlanta FO take its time and wait for the right situation.
Any news on Brandon Beachy?
Nope. Still the missing man. Seems he is being allowed to draw a salary while effectively retired.
Pretty incredible that any and all details about Beachy have been kept in-house. Surely, there should have been something leaked out by now.
Or, people just stopped caring and moved on.
That too. I suspect without any proof or evidence that letting him collect these last paychecks was part of the unwritten deal between Beachy and the Dodgers.
Dirks was actually the 15th round pick of the Braves not the Dodgers. Braves traded him to Dodgers last year for International Slot money.
I think the best part of this trade is finally getting rid of Toscano. That signing was a mistake
Agreed, I was really skeptical of that signing.
I wonder if dumping Toscano and the money he was owed before the International signing begins Saturday was the motivating factor behind this deal.
No because the money he was owed has nothing to do with they money they will spend on the international draft. Besides, they sent cash to LAD so that offsets any savings they would have had.
How do you know? According to Dave O’Brien the Braves saved 4 million out of the 6 million owed to Toscano. What’s to say they wanted to apply that savings to someone like Kevin Maitan? I think it might have more to do with this than you think.
I’m not sure what to think about this. Dirks seems like he will be able to help in the BP relatively quickly, but that’s about all he is going to be. As for Pfeifer, from the one scouting report I have seen, he doesn’t seem like a “high upside” arm at all. He will end up as a bullpen piece, most likely as a lefty specialist.
Getting rid of Dian Toscano isn’t a big deal other than getting the salary off the books. He wasn’t on the 40 man roster so it’s not like he was taking up room for someone else. I mean we don’t really have a lot of high profile outfielders in the minors.
So in paper this trade doesn’t really help us, and if anything I think we undersold. I am not expecting anything spectacular in a trade for Norris but I think we could have done better.
Maybe I’m wrong and if I am… I’ll eat crow
Well the braves are sort of eating a majority of the contract.
I mean, alright. Norris served his purpose for the Braves. Glad he was able to rebuild some value after bombing to start the season. Best of luck out in LA, Bud.
Looks like a good trade for both sides. I like the dump of Toscano and the pitchers acquired could be useful with development.
Now jut need Aybar to pick it up over the next two weeks. June had been a good month for him.
I wonder if the PTBNL will be an international signing? Since the Dodgers are unable to sign anyone over 300K, couldn’t the Braves agree to sign someone for them and then send him as the PTBNL? Or is there a waiting period before those guys can be traded?
I’m wondering if the player to be named later is Hector Olivera LOL
I don’t see the Braves wasting $300K of their int’l pool to help the Dodgers out when chances are it will be a low MiLB filler – especially after being linked to so many highly rated prospects.
That’s my point though. The Braves are already probably going to blow past their amount anyway, so what is an extra $500K signing for another in the grand scheme. Not that I am trying to give the Dodgers good ideas or anything, but it does seem like a way to get around the system.
To all who think Tehran is not a ace . I have prove that show he is. You all into stats well I have prove that show he as good of like if hall of famers like Mathewson ,Spahn and ace like gray, Feliz Hernandez
Seriously?
Google translate is not working to well for you, huh?
It’s kind of weird, the users that make the most suggestions are the same ones that don’t know the transaction rules…
I hope that the Braves have fired whomever the scout was that recommended Toscano and Olivera. Two total disasters.
As for Norris, I guess we got SOMETHING, but sooner or later the Braves will have to go after some position players, that are AA or AAA and producing. Unless the plan is to start Freeman plus 8 pitchers for the next few years.
Maybe his numbers are for real, it happens every year. However, it’s likely his numbers jump back up and the Dodgers are left wondering why they traded for him. Wouldn’t be shocked to see him not finish the season on the roster.
With as much bad luck as the Dodgers are having with injuries, he may be their #1 starter by season’s end, lol.