Braves trade 2 pitchers for slugging prospect Demeritte from Winder

“Obviously he (Demeritte) is not here right now, but he’s a kid who’s moved pretty quickly. He’s 21 years old, he’s from (Georgia), he’s played very well — he actually started at second base opposite Dansby Swanson in the Futures Game. Twenty-five home runs: I don’t think anybody that’s in the Braves minor league system right now is anywhere close to that.”

A first-round draft pick out of Winder-Barrow High School in 2013, Demeritte hit .272 with 25 home runs, a .352 OBP and .935 OPS in 88 games at advanced Single-A High Desert in the California League, with 41 walks and 125 strikeouts in 378 plate appearances.

He served an 80-game suspension last season for using performance-enhancing drugs. In his first full minor league season in 2014, he hit .211 with 25 homers, 171 strikeouts in 118 games for Single-A Hickory in the South Atlantic League.

Drafted as a shortstop, he’s played primarily second base and some third base in the minor leagues, and the Braves will probably use him at several positions including left field.

“We will probably move him around a little bit and see where he fits best,” Coppolella said. “But we’ve got good depth at all those areas, so I wouldn’t pigeon-hole him into one spot right now. Why we got him is, he’s got a lot of tools. He’s got power, he’s got speed, and he was a first-round pick. He’s a player our scouts liked a lot.”

With their top-prospect middle infield duo of shortstop Swanson and second baseman Ozzie Albies currently paired at Double-A Mississippi, the Braves likely will assign Demeritte to high-A Carolina initially.

Harrell, 31, was 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA in five starts for the Braves, who signed him to a minor league contract in May after he was released by the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate. He has a 20-35 record and 4.74 ERA in 93 games (67 starts) over parts of six major league seasons with the White Sox, Astros and Braves, and pitched in Korea during the 2015 season.

“The opportunity I had here with the Braves was awesome,” Harrell said after shaking hands and hugging teammates in the visitor’s clubhouse Wednesday afternoon at Target Field. “It’s a first-class organization. If I ever have a chance to come back, I will definitely come back.”

Braves interim manager Brian Snitker and Coppolella told him he’d been traded.

“At first you’re a little sad,” Harrell said. “I’ve become friends with a lot of guys here in the clubhouse. It’s a great group of guys. This is something that they’re going to build and this organization will win quickly. It’s something I definitely saw myself and wanted to be part of. I want to thank the Braves for the opportunity, and I’m grateful now for this opportunity with the Rangers.”

Alvarez, 27, was claimed off waivers from the Mets in May for a $20,000 claiming price. He had a 12.60 ERA in 10 career relief appearances for the Mets over two seasons, but with the Braves the lefty went 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 16 appearances, with 28 strikeouts and only five walks in 15 innings.

“Somebody wants them — that says a lot for what they accomplished here, and I wish them nothing but the best,” said Snitker, who called it a “mixed bag” to trade pitchers helping the team now in exchange for a player who could help them a lot in the future.

“It’s tough to let those kind of guys go, but in the end you look up and I see the numbers of the kid that we got, who’s out of Winder,” Snitker said. “(Demeritte) is probably ecstatic to be traded to his hometown team. Not knowing much about him, it looks like he’s a very skilled and tooled player also, and a power guy. That could be, two or three years down the road, you look back and you got a really good player. Time will tell.”