Dodgers Acquire Bud Norris In Five-Player Deal With Atlanta

Dodgers Acquire Bud Norris In Five-Player Deal With Atlanta

The Los Angeles Dodgers today acquired right-handed pitcher Bud Norris, minor league outfielder Dian Toscano, a player to be named later and cash considerations from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for minor league pitchers Philip Pfeifer (LHP) and Caleb Dirks (RHP). To make room for Norris on the 40-man roster, Los Angeles designated left-hander Ian Thomas for assignment.

July 2nd, 2016

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Dodgers today acquired right-handed pitcher Bud Norris, minor league outfielder Dian Toscano, a player to be named later and cash considerations from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for minor league pitchers Philip Pfeifer (LHP) and Caleb Dirks (RHP). To make room for Norris on the 40-man roster, Los Angeles designated left-hander Ian Thomas for assignment.
Norris has been one of the National League's best pitchers this month, going 2-1 in six games (five starts) with Atlanta and ranking among the league's best in ERA (2.08, 10th), opponents' batting average (.194, 7th) and WHIP (0.96, 10th). Overall, the 31-year-old has posted a 3-7 record with a 4.22 ERA in 22 games (10 starts) this season, including a 2.08 ERA (11 ER/47.2 IP) in his last 17 games (five starts) since May 2.
In eight Major League seasons with the Astros (2009-13), Orioles (2013-15), Padres (2015) and Braves (2016), Norris has gone 59-75 with a 4.43 ERA in 218 games (176 starts) after originally being selected by Houston in the sixth round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Toscano, 27, hit .226 with 10 RBI in 58 games with the Braves' Double-A Mississippi this year following five seasons in Cuba's Serie Nacional, where he batted .299 with 13 home runs and 101 RBI in 261 games with Villa Clara. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound, left-handed hitter was originally signed by Atlanta as an international free agent on Jan. 28, 2015.
Dirks, 23, went 3-2 with six saves and a 1.44 ERA in 28 relief appearances with Double-A Tulsa this year, his second season in the Dodger organization. He returns to the Braves organization, which drafted him in the 15th round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of California Baptist University and subsequently traded him to the Dodgers on July 2, 2015.
Pfeifer, 23, posted a 3-1 combined record with a 2.67 ERA in 17 relief appearances with Single-A Great Lakes and Single-A Rancho Cucamonga this year, his second professional season. He was selected by the Dodgers in the third round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Vanderbilt University.