Dodgers send Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood to Reds for Homer Bailey

CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers had a surplus of outfielders. With one attention-getting deal, they reshaped their roster in hopes of a different pennant run.

The reigning NL champions shook up their lineup Friday, investing Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and left-hander Alex Wood along with cash to the Cincinnati Reds for a set of prospects as a piece of a seven-player deal.

The Reds included starter Homer Bailey in the swap, a means of preventing them from the $28 million owed him at the final year of his contract. Bailey didn’t fit into the Reds’ hurling strategies, so that they wanted to add him in a deal if possible. The Dodgers plan to discharge him.

“It was to grant him his launch, much more of fitting into the overall construct of the deal,” stated Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations.

Even the Dodgers get small leaguer infielder Jeter Downs and right-hander Josiah Gray. The Reds got catcher Kyle Farmer for depth in the place.

“I believe if you look back over last few years, a hallmark of our groups has been thickness on the roster,” Friedman explained. “This put us with a surplus in the outfield and pitching. A big focus was to find out moves on those arenas that made sense. ”

For the Reds, it’another movement toward getting aggressive after four consecutive 90-loss seasons. Cincinnati has been rebuilding because 2015, and decided it’time to devote some money and make a few bargains to match its core of young players.

“We still have (financial) resources to create this team better — we’re not completed yet,” said Dick Williams, the Reds’ president of baseball operations. “We did trade some decent prospects here, but we obtained four major league players that address needs for us now and now I believe we’fared better at the short term. ”

Last week, the Reds traded pitching potential Tanner Rainey to the Nationals for 32-year-old starter Tanner Roark, who headed the National League in losses last year when going 9-15 using a 4.34 ERA.

Cincinnati didn’t understand exactly what to do with Bailey, who travelled 1-14 final year with a 6.09 ERA and also resisted a move to the bullpen. He threw a set of no-hitters until his career was sidetracked by three arm operations. He was entering the final year on a $105 million deal.

The rotation has been the Reds’ largest problem, together with prospects failing to make always, and Wood provides an additional upgrade. He was a All-Star for the Dodgers at 2017, heading 16-3 with a 2.72 ERA. He was 9-7 final year with a 3.68 ERA in 27 starts and six relief appearances.

“We believe he’s solid middle-of-the-rotation man who’s likely to fit in really well,” Williams explained.

Even the Reds’ outfield was in flux if they chose to not tender a contact to Billy Hamilton, which makes him a free agent. Puig is expected to play right field. He also ’s at the final year of a seven-year, $42 million deal.

Kemp, 34, batted .290 with 25 doubles, 21 homers and 85 RBIs last year, when he was a All-Star for the third time.

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The Dodgers felt great about the opportunity to take care of their glut of outfielders and pitchers.

“If you look at our turning and outfield four months before, it wasn’t a practical roster,” Friedman explained. “It’s a deal which is reasonable. ”

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AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy at Los Angeles contributed to this report.