Braves trade Bud Norris to Dodgers for LHP Phillip Pfeifer and RHP Caleb Dirks

Bud Norris has been a hot commodity on the trade market following his string of good performances this season. This was always the hope for the Braves — that Norris would pitch well enough to eventually be dealt for further assets, and that has come to fruition. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Braves have reached an agreement with the Dodgers that will send Bud Norris to Los Angeles.

At first glance, this seems like the Braves are taking advantage of the Dodgers currently being in a bind when it comes to starting pitching. They were already having issues in that department, and things got even more complicated when the normally-durable Clayton Kershaw ended up having to make only his second trip to the DL in his career with a sore back. As such, the Braves saw an opportunity to use Bud Norris to pick up some prospects, and have done so.

Stay tuned for further details.

UPDATE (3:11 PM ET): Here are the two prospects that the Braves are receiving from the Dodgers:

If Caleb Dirks’ name sounds familiar to you, then that’s because he was in the Braves organization just last year and was actually traded for, most importantly, an IFA slot. Meanwhile, Phillip Pfeiffer was Los Angeles’ third round pick (#101 overall) in the 2015 draft and figures to be a bullpen arm once he eventually makes it to the big leagues. That goes for Dirks as well, as it appears that the Braves had ideas of improving the bullpen when it came to this deal.

So, the Braves end up getting two decent prospects in exchange for Bud Norris. It’s a pretty decent return for the veteran righty — especially when you consider just how badly he started the season.

UPDATE (3:30 PM ET): The Legend of Dian Toscano has come to an end in Atlanta, as the Braves have apparently sent him to Los Angeles as well.