’round and ’round

This trade deadline stuff will make your head spin: Former Mississippi Braves Alex Wood, Luis Avilan and Jose Peraza are gone from Atlanta’s roster, shipped to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trade that brought in Cuban third baseman Hector Olivera – and his $37M contract. Hard to figure where Atlanta is going with all of this, isn’t it? … Also joining the Braves organization is former Murrah High star Zack Bird, a ninth-round pick by the Dodgers in 2012 who has a 16-35 record and 4.74 ERA in four years in the low minors. The 6-foot-4 right-hander was in the Class A California League at the time of the deal. He could make it to the Double-A M-Braves sometime in the near future. … One small save for Washington, one giant (well, sorta) save for Mississippi State product Jonathan Papelbon. In his first appearance for the Nationals today, Papelbon worked a 1-2-3 ninth, punching out Michael Morse for the final out in a 1-0 win over Miami. It would have been a thing had Papelbon blown his first save try with the Nats, don’t you think? … Meanwhile, ex-M-Braves ace Matt Harrison, trying to battle back this season from injuries (see previous posts), is off to Philadelphia as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Cole Hamels to Texas. “He’s got a long track record of great success. It’ll be huge for us,” Rangers first baseman and MSU alum Mitch Moreland told mlb.com about Hamels. … And this just in, former Richton High star JaCoby Jones has been dealt from Pittsburgh to Detroit in exchange for closer Joakim Soria. Jones, 23, a shortstop, was just recently promoted to Double-A, which had sparked speculation a deal might be in the works with him.