The Braves traded reliever Anthony Varvaro to the Red Sox for right-handed minor league reliever Aaron Kurcz, a former Cubs prospect best known for being sent to Boston as compensation when the Cubs hired former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein in March 2012.
The Braves also got an unspecified amount of cash from the Red Sox in the trade.
Kurcz, 24, had a 2.14 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 42 innings over 34 appearances last season at Double-A Portland, after missing the 2013 season recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery.
A converted starter, Kurcz is 13-11 with a 2.81 ERA in 121 games (12 starts) in parts of four minor league seasons, with 265 strikeouts and 94 walks in 202 innings. The former 11th-round draft pick is only 6 feet and about 180 pounds, but features a 94-96 mph fastball that he complements with a average curveball and decent changeup.
Kurcz allowed five earned runs in his first three appearances of 2014, then posted a 1.15 ERA and a .194 opponents’ average over his final 31 appearances. He was the 40th-rated Red Sox prospect in one recent ranking.
The trade came two days after the Braves designated Varvaro for assignment to open a spot on their 40-man roster for recently signed infielder Alberto Callaspo. The Braves had 10 days from that move to trade or release Varvaro.
Varvaro, 30, had a 2.63 ERA in 61 appearances in 2014, with 50 strikeouts and 13 walks in 54 2/3 innings.
“As much as we liked Anthony, we felt we were dealing from an area of depth,” Braves president of baseball operations John Hart said. “We knew we weren’t going to get an impactful deal. This was more about clearing the roster spot and then getting back a player we’re interested in and we like.
“There are some similarities (to Varvaro in type of pitcher he is) and we were able to get a pretty good level of cash in this deal, too.”
Varvaro was still a year away from arbitration and would’ve made less than $600,000 in 2015 for the Braves, who deemed him expendable after signing former Orioles closer Jim Johnson and hard-throwing former Angels reliever Michael Kohn this offseason.
“With the people we added to our roster, and with some of the signings and trades that we made, our roster is crowded,” Hart said of the decision to designate Varvaro for assignment. “So we sort of picked our spot and designated (him). He was the first guy off the roster, realizing what he had done for our club.”
The Braves also traded away setup man Jordan Walden — he would’ve made about $3 million in arbitration — in the November deal that sent Jason Heyward to St. Louis in exchange for starting pitcher Shelby Miller and pitching prospect Tyrell Jenkins. The Cardinals wanted Walden rather than Varvaro in that deal.
