Dodgers acquire Caleb Dirks, Jordan Paroubeck from Braves for final international slot

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers again used cash to their advantage on Thursday, trading the last of their international bonus pool slots to the Braves for a pair of minor league players, right-handed pitcher Caleb Dirks and outfielder Jordan Paroubeck.

The international slot traded was No. 87 overall, worth $249,000.

The Dodgers earlier Thursday traded their other three slots - No. 27, No. 57 and No. 87 - worth a combined $1,071,300 to the Blue Jays for pitcher Chase DeJong and second baseman Tim Locastro.

That means for the cost of $1,320,300, the amount of extra overage tax the Dodgers will pay for their signing bonuses during this period, which are already over $20 million with Thursday's signings, the organization was able to add four more minor league players, none older than 22.

That is a creative and efficient use of resources.

Dirks, who played his college ball at nearby Cal Baptist in Riverside, where he was teammates with 2014 Dodgers seventh-round selection Trevor Oaks, currently with Class-A Great Lakes, was drafted by Atlanta in the 15th round in 2014. The right-hander has allowed two runs in 26⅔ innings this year over 17 appearances with low Class-A Rome and Class-A Carolina, with 29 strikeouts and 14 walks.

Dirks, like DeJong and Locastro, was assigned to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga.

Paroubeck was drafted by the Padres in the second round of the 2013 draft, when Josh Byrnes was the general manager and Billy Gasparino ran San Diego's drafts. Both Byrnes and Gasparino are in the Dodgers front office.

The Braves acquired Paroubeck in April from San Diego in the Craig Kimbrel / Melvin Upton trade. Paroubeck will report to the Dodgers facility at Camelback Ranch in Arizona dealing with what the Dodgers call a minor quad injury, but the injury has been severe enough to keep him from playing any games this season.

Paroubeck, now 20, hit .286/.346/.457 in 34 games in 2014 for the Padres' Arizona League rookie-level team. Here is what John Sickels at Minor League Ball had to say about Paroubeck in April:

A 6-2, 190 pound switch-hitter, Paroubeck was born November 2nd, 1994. Although somewhat raw with considerable swing-and-miss in his game at present, Paroubeck offers intrigue as high-upside power/speed package. His family is friends with Barry Bonds and Paroubeck has reportedly taken hitting lessons from the master. If he can lock down the strike zone he could be an impact player in multiple categories a few years down the line.

Byrnes on Thursday talked about the Dodgers' approach this year, going well over the slot bonus pool to add talent, even with penalties in the next two international signing periods.

"If you exceed the cap, let's make it count, get as many guys we like as possible. There has to be some fiscal responsibility, but whether it's this arena, the draft or trades, since I've walked in, from ownership on down we're doing everything we can to build our own talent flow through our system," Byrnes explained. "Any place we can be aggressive and scout and find players, we'll take that approach."