Atlanta Braves Relief Pitcher, Paco Rodriguez, Makes Long-Awaited Debut With Team
By Jeff Schafer
Braves Lefty Paco Rodriguez Does Exist!!
On July 30, 2015 the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Miami Marlins pulled off a three-team trade right before the trade deadline. This is a trade that many remember as the Braves getting Hector Olivera, but in reality, we got a lot more.
The trade sent Bronson Arroyo, Luis Avilan, Jim Johnson, Jose Peraza and Alex Wood from the Braves and Mat Latos and Mike Morse from the Marlins to the Dodgers.
The Marlins received Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham and Kevin Guzman.
And the Braves received a 2016 competitive balance round A pick from the Marlins and Hector Olivera, Zack Bird and Paco Rodriguez from the Dodgers.
This is the one trade that Braves GM John Coppolella has admitted how terrible the trade was. Not all pieces, but the Olivera part that we all know about.
Bird didn’t work out either. The Braves lost the struggling relief pitcher to the Rule 5 draft this offseason.
The 2016 competitive balance draft pick? Well, the Braves drafted Joey Wentz.
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Paco was the other final piece in this trade the Braves received and could end up being the key player.
Who’s Paco Rodriguez?
The 6’3″ 220 pound lefty was drafted by the Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 2012 MLB draft out of the University of Florida. He made his debut with the Dodgers that same year on September 9th.
He had a fantastic 2013 season with the Dodgers, making 76 appearances with a 2.32 ERA in 54.1 innings pitched. In 2014, he bounced back and forth with the Dodgers and the minors. Then in 2015 after only throwing 10 innings with the Dodgers, he had arm issues.
Following the trade in 2015, we all learned that Paco Rodriguez was going to need Tommy John surgery and would most likely miss the entire 2016 season.
We’ve been waiting and waiting for a Rodriguez sighting and now we’ve got one!
Present Day – March 2, 2017
In the sixth game of the 2017 Braves Spring Training season, Rodriguez was on the hill for the Braves.
Against the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh inning, Rodriguez pitched a perfect inning. He struck out one hitter, gave up no runs and no hits.
This was the lefties first appearance in a professional game in 21 months. With more outings like this, he could be a key pitcher for the Braves 2017 bullpen.
“I was a little nervous,” Rodriguez told AJC’s David O’Brien after the game. “I was in the pen warming up and I was just, like, trying to slow down my heart rate, trying to breathe, just telling myself, hey, it’s just another day at the ballpark. Just had a blast going back at it, and I felt good. Everything was moving and had late action, so I was happy with how my outing went.”
Atlanta will have Ian Krol back in the bullpen in 2017. He’s the only left-handed pitcher currently slated for our bullpen. Yes, we have a few others competing for a job, but none (except AJ Minter) that are as talented as Paco.
Next: Braves Bullpen Flamethrower!
Let’s hope he continues to stay healthy and makes the Braves opening day roster!