The Braves parlayed another modest acquisition into minor-league prospects when they traded lefty reliever Hunter Cervenka to the Marlins on Saturday for left-hander Michael Mader and shortstop Anfernee Seymour.
Cervenka was a journeyman minor leaguer when the Braves signed him last season. He drew interest from other teams because of effective work for the Braves in his rookie season.
“This was a trade that keeps adding to our prospect inventory,” Braves general manager John Coppolella said. “We weren’t setting out to trade Hunter Cervenka; he’s done a nice job for us. But we felt it was a chance to get two kids we really like.”
Seymour, 21, was playing for Class-A Greensboro this season. The Marlins selected Seymour in the seventh round of the 2014 draft out of American Heritage High in Delray Beach, Fla. ESPN’s Keith Law rated him as the No. 11 prospect in Miami’s organization before this season.
Seymour, a switch-hitter, has played 193 minor league games and has a .258 batting average with a .313 on-base percentage and 76 stolen bases in 96 attempts. Coppolella said Braves scouts timed Seymour running 60 yards in 6.14 seconds.
“He’ll be the fastest runner in the whole Braves organization,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of speed and we are trying to fill areas of need and he’s someone who has game-changing speed for us.”
Mader, 22, was pitching for high Class-A Jupiter this season. In 61 games (60 starts) in the minors Mader has a 3.87 ERA with 6.1 strikeouts and three walks per nine innings. The Marlins selected Mader in the third round of the 2014 draft out of Chipola College in Marianna, Fla.
“We are trying to get as many young left-hand pitching prospects as we can and just see what happens,” Coppolella said.
The Braves signed Cervenka to a free-agent contract last July, about a month after the Cubs released him. He was pitching in the independent Atlantic League at the time. Cervenka, 26, made his big-league debut on April 12 and posted a 3.18 ERA in 50 appearances (34 innings) with 35 strikeouts and 23 walks.
Coppolella credited his scouting staff for finding Cervenka and the Braves coaching staff for helping him develop.
“It’s not like we just get these guys so we can trade them,” Coppolella said. “But if we have a chance to add value with where we are at, then I think we owe that to our fans and the organization and see if there are ways we can get upside, impact players and get back to being a championship-caliber team and organization.”
Coppolella said the Braves and Marlins tried to work out the trade for Cervenka before the non-waiver trade deadline on Monday but ran out of time. When the Marlins won a waiver claim on Cervenka, the two teams revisited the deal.
Cervenka’s departure leaves the Braves with two left-handers among seven relievers: Ian Krol and Eric O’Flaherty.
To take Cervenka’s place on the roster, the Braves promoted right-hander Roberto Hernandez from Triple-A Gwinnett. He was set to start against the Cardinals on Saturday.
