Atlanta Braves Opening Day countdown: 45, Odalis
The Atlanta Braves have had few pitchers traded away that turned into something for their new team. However, there were some that did come back to bite the team.
The Atlanta Braves have been producing excellent pitching through the minor league system for many years. However, as the Braves were in the midst of their big run of divisional titles in the 1990s through the early-2000s, they rarely traded away a pitcher that they regretted losing. Odalis Perez was a rare one of those.
Perez was originally signed by the Braves out of the Dominican Republic. He had a mature approach on the mound immediately, able to handle a move straight to the GCL to make his pro debut at 17, posting a 2.22 ERA over 65 innings.
He jumped up quickly, pitching a season of long relief for low-A Macon in 1997, tossing 87 1/3 innings over 36 appearances. He opened 1998 in the rotation with AA Greenville, but the Braves moved the 20-year-old to the bullpen in AAA and used him out of the bullpen in his MLB debut that summer.
He would pitch all of 1999 out of the rotation, but he struggled before injury ended his season. Perez missed the 2000 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and was productive as a back-end starter in 2001 once he returned, showing flashes but not exactly claiming a rotation spot.
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The Dodgers traded Odalis along with Andrew Brown and Brian Jordan before the 2002 season for Gary Sheffield. Obviously, having Sheffield in the 2002 and 2003 lineups was a huge bonus, but in his first year in Dodger blue, Perez made the All-Star team, going 15-10 over 222 1/3 innings, posting a 3.00 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP.
After a mediocre season in 2003, Perez had another excellent season in 2004, which would have been the Atlanta Braves first season without Tom Glavine, and they definitely needed a lefty in the rotation. Perez put up a 3.25 ERA over 196 1/3 innings in 2004. That ERA would have led the entire Braves pitching staff in 2004.
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Perez was out of the league after his age-30 season, declining quickly after that 2004 season, but for that 3-year span, having his arm in the Atlanta Braves rotation would have been extremely valuable.