Tommy La Stella has been traded to the Chicago Cubs.
photo by Tim Evearitt
The Braves reacquired one of their former top pitching prospects -- right-handed reliever Arodys Vizcaino -- and an opportunity to provide themselves a greater opportunity to be more aggressive on the international free-agent market when they struck a deal to send second baseman Tommy La Stella to the Cubs on Sunday.
In exchange for La Stella and their fourth international-bonus-pool slot, the Braves received the Cubs' second, third and fourth international-bonus-pool slots. Atlanta will net approximately an extra $830,000 to spend on international free agents.
Vizcaino burst on the Major League scene as a hard-throwing 20-year-old reliever who made 17 appearances for the Braves in 2011.
He underwent Tommy John surgery the following year and has since totaled just five appearances at the big league level.
The Braves received outfielder Reed Johnson and left-handed pitcher Paul Maholm in exchange for Vizcaino in a deal with the Cubs in July 2012 at the Trade Deadline.
Vizcaino was widely considered one of the game's top 100 overall prospects until he began dealing with post-surgery arm issues that sidelined him throughout the 2012 and '13 seasons. The 24-year-old right-hander combined for 45 appearances while pitching at four different levels, including the Majors, for the Cubs this past season.
While producing a 5.40 ERA in 18 1/3 innings (17 appearances) for Triple-A Iowa, Vizcaino notched 16 strikeouts and issued 11 walks. Still, he earned a call to the big leagues when rosters were expanded in September. After allowing three earned runs during his first two appearances for Chicago, he surrendered just one hit and kept opponents scoreless during the other three innings he completed during the season's final month.
La Stella drew a lot of attention when he became Atlanta's starting second baseman in late May. But after losing his everyday role in early August, La Stella started to get the sense that he might be traded this offseason.
The 25-year-old hit .251 with one homer, two stolen bases and a .644 OPS in 93 games with Atlanta in 2014 Though he has shown the capability to make consistent contact and prove patient at the plate, the second baseman has been hampered by his lack of power, speed and defensive range.
The Braves were willing to live with La Stella's limitations as he batted .297 with a .747 OPS through the first 46 games of his career. But the young infielder fell out of favor while hitting .201 with a .534 OPS in the 47 games that followed.
Highly regarded infield prospect Jose Peraza is targeted to spend all of Spring Training showing the Braves how close he is to being ready to become Atlanta's starting second baseman, and possibly the club's leadoff hitter. If the speedy 20-year-old infielder is not ready at the beginning of the season, Phil Gosselin stands as the most likely internal candidate to begin next season as Atlanta's second baseman.
--- Source: MLB.com
Tommy LaStella
photo by Tim Evearitt