The Dodgers have agreed to acquire starter Ricky Nolasco from the Marlins, Joe
Frisaro of MLB.com reports via Twitter. Frisaro reports that Miami will acquire
a trio of pitching prospects in return, headlined by Angel Sanchez and also
including right-handed relievers Steve Ames and Josh Wall. (Twitter link.) The
Dodgers have confirmed the deal via the team's Twitter feed.
The Dodgers also announced (via Twitter) that the team will receive
international signing bonus slot number 96, which carries a $197k bonus
allocation. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports on Twitter that the Dodgers will,
in fact, take on all of the approximately $5.5MM remaining on Nolasco’s
contract.
The three prospects that reportedly will join the Marlins each ranked in the
Dodgers top thirty farmhands going into the season, according to Baseball
America. Young right-handed starter Sanchez was the lowest among them,
registering at number 25. Nevertheless, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo pegs him as
LA's eight-best prospect. The 23-year-old has what BA calls an "exciting arm,"
though he has yet to dominate in the lower minor leagues and could be converted
to a reliever. Mayo says Sanchez's live, low-to-mid-90's heater and
promising-but-inconsistent slider and change make him a possible mid-rotation
starter.
The other two minor leaguers have already been converted to relievers, and in
that respect possess less upside than Sanchez. Ames notched the 21st slot on
Baseball America's list, with BA saying he should be ready as a 7th or 8th
inning setup man in the big leagues as soon as this year. The 25-year-old
reliever has pitched to a 3.67 ERA in 34 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year, his
first season at that level. He has, however, seen his strikeout rate decline
and walk rate go up this season, as compared to the stellar marks he put up in
the lower minor league levels. Wall checked in one spot ahead of Ames among
Dodgers prospects before the season, but has struggled in 2013. He was
shellacked (14 earned runs in 7 innings) during a call-up and has a 5.60 ERA in
27 1/3 Triple-A innings. The tall righty is noted by BA as possessing late-game
stuff, but has still yet to master his command.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the teams were in serious
negotiations and that three lower-level prospects would be included, as well as
international slot money. (Twitter links). MLB.com's Joe Frisaro was the first
to report (on Twitter) that a deal was expected to be completed tonight and
would include three pitchers going back to Miami. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro was
the first to report (tweet) that Steve Ames was one of the three players to be
sent from Los Angeles, while Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com was the first to
reports (via Twitter) that Josh Wall and Angel Sanchez would also be included.