Congratulations Oakland A's! Because you are now officially living "The Suite Life with Cody" since this afternoon the Athletics acquired Atlanta Braves' reliever and minor league starter Cody Martin for the 53rd international bonus pool slot.
Martin, a seventh round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, excelled very early in his career as a closer with Danville in the Rookie League and Single-A Rome before transitioning to the rotation as a starter the following season. In his first year as a starting pitcher (2012), the Gonzaga University product continued his success by going 12-7 with a 2.93 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 107.1 innings for Single-A Advanced Lynchburg, which claimed him the honor of being named an MiLB.com organizational All-Star.
In 2013, Martin continued his climb through the Braves' system by performing well at Double-A Mississippi (3-3 record, 2.82 ERA, and 71 strikeouts in 67 innings pitched) resulting in a promotion to Triple-A. The 25-year old would then stay one step away from the majors at Gwinnett until this season when he broke camp with Atlanta and made his Major League debut on April 7th.
As a relief pitcher for the Braves, Martin pitched 21.2 innings pitched in 21 games while going 2-3 with an ERA of 5.40.
The Braves ultimately decided to part ways with the pitcher because Oakland was offering the 53rd international bonus pool slot (set at $388,400 this year), and Atlanta needs to increase their bonus pool amount due to them offering seven-figure signing bonuses to outfielder Christian Pache and infielder Derian Cruz, two of MLB.com Top-30 International Prospects.
After the transaction, Oakland optioned Martin to Triple-A Nashville for him to continue pitching as a starter. The Athletics enter today's play with a 36-45 overall record, which puts them eleven games back of American League leading Houston.