Orioles trade Gausman to Braves in 6-player deal

The Atlanta Braves boosted their pitching staff for the stretch run by acquiring right-handed starter Kevin Gausman from the Baltimore Orioles as part of a six-player deal before Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline.

Atlanta picked up Gausman and injured reliever Darren O'Day from the Orioles in exchange for international bonus money and four prospects: third baseman Juan Carlos Encarnacion, catcher Brett Cumberland, right-hander Evan Phillips, and left-hander Bruce Zimmermann.

The Braves currently sit just a half-game back of the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies, and will hope Gausman can aid a rotation that ranks third among NL clubs in ERA but just eighth by FIP, relying heavily on breakout campaigns from Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb and a resurgent season from Anibal Sanchez.

Gausman, 27, has authored a 4.43 ERA and 4.58 FIP over 124 innings this year. The right-hander is under team control through 2020, with a pair of arbitration-eligible seasons remaining.

O'Day is currently on the 60-day disabled list after undergoing season-ending hamstring surgery earlier this month. The 35-year-old right-hander, who spent the last seven seasons in Baltimore and was an All-Star in 2015, is under contract for 2019 at a cost of $9 million.

Of the four youngsters heading to Baltimore in the trade, two - Encarnacion (No. 14) and Cumberland (No. 30) - were ranked among the Braves' top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline prior to Tuesday.

Encarnacion, a native of the Dominican Republic, is in his third professional season. The 20-year-old third baseman has played 97 games at Single-A Rome this year, and is hitting .288/.314/.463 with 10 homers, 23 doubles, 57 RBIs, and 100 strikeouts to 13 walks.

Cumberland, 23, was promoted to Double-A Mississippi earlier this week after playing much of the season in the Florida State League. In 87 total minor-league games this year, he's hitting .228/.357/.389 with 11 homers and 39 RBIs while also walking 53 times. Defensively, he's thrown out 41 percent of would-be base-stealers.

Phillips, a native of Salisbury, Md., made his MLB debut with Atlanta on July 3 and has posted an 8.53 ERA in 6 1/3 innings with the big club this month. The 23-year-old has spent the majority of his 2018 season at Triple-A Gwinnett, where he's recorded a 1.99 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 59 strikeouts (13.1 per nine innings), and eight saves.

The 23-year-old Zimmermann has made 20 starts this season split between Single-A Rome and Double-A Mississippi, striking out 125 batters in 113 1/3 innings while posting a 2.86 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.