Atlanta Braves trade Gus Schlosser, David Hale to Colorado Rockies for catching prospects

The Atlanta Braves continued rebuilding their farm system today, as the team announced the trade of pitchers Gus Schlosser and David Hale in exchange for two catching prospects from the Colorado Rockies:

Hale was pretty useful to the Braves in 2014, throwing 87.1 innings splitting time as a starter (he started six games) and a bullpen guy. He finished the year with a 3.30 ERA despite peripherals that suggest he got a bit lucky. Hale struck out just 4.53 batters per nine innings while walking 4.02 per nine, but has benefitted greatly from his 56 percent ground ball rate–which the Rockies should be excited about.

Schlosser had a much briefer stint with the big league club in Atlanta, tossing 17.2 innings of relief and struggling to a 7.64 ERA. In 99.1 innings with Triple-A Gwinnett, Schlosser wound up with a 4.17 ERA, but he struggled with his control throughout 2014.

In exchange for the 27- and 26-year-old relievers, the Braves get back two young catching prospects.

22-year-old Jose Briceno looks like the biggest piece of the deal from Atlanta’s perspective. Here’s some of what Baseball America wrote about Briceno after the 2013 season, when he was rated as the Rockies 29th-best prospect ($):

"His best tools are his above-average power and arm strength. The raw catching tools, with solid feet and good hands, are evident, so now it’s a matter of repetition and refinement.Briceno is mature in the hips and legs, prompting concern about diminished speed (currently average) and flexibility his down the road. A move to first base might ultimately result. Regardless, Briceno has a chance to wield an impact bat."

During the 2014 season in A ball of the South Atlantic League, Briceno put up a .283/.336/.476 triple slash with 12 home runs. He’s still a good bit away from knocking on Atlanta’s door though. Look for him to continue refining his skills behind the dish and hopefully improving his patience at the plate (he’s taken just 28 walks in his last 153 games dating back to 2012). He’ll need to in order to become a major league player.

24-year-old Chris O’Dowd is the other player coming into the system in this deal and spent last season splitting time between High-A Modesto and Double-A Tulsa. His combined triple slash from 2014 was .271/.335/.385. When he made the jump to Double-A O’Dowd saw an increased walk rate at the expense of lost power. He hit five homers, three triples and 20 doubles in Modesto (74 games) and no homers, no triples and seven doubles with Tulsa (39 games).

This move also created space on the roster for Jonny Gomes–whose one-year deal was officially announced by the team today.