LOS ANGELES -- Alex Wood nearly got caught in the Andrew Heaney-Zach Eflin vortex, the strange limbo region players often land in when they are part of Andrew Friedman trades.

Friedman, the Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations, has a propensity to turn simple trades into complex, multi-team affairs. During the winter meetings, prospects Heaney and Eflin were acquired by the Dodgers in trades only to be flipped to other teams for major-league talent. In Heaney’s case, it was to acquire Howie Kendrick. In Eflin’s, it was to get Jimmy Rollins.

When he found out he was going to pitch for the Los Angeles Angels after spending five hours as a Dodger, Heaney tweeted, “Well, Dodgers we had a good run! Great to be part of such a storied franchise.”

So Thursday was a strange time for Wood. First, he heard he might, in fact, be heading to the Detroit Tigers in a trade for David Price. Then there were reports saying he could end up going to the Cleveland Indians for Carlos Carrasco.

“I heard the speculation that there were things going on. One way or other, we ended up getting solid word that probably wouldn’t be the case,” Wood said. “I was excited. I told my agent if I ever reached free agency, this is the one place I’d want to play. It’s funny how things work out.”

Three of the four pitchers the Dodgers acquired before the deadline reported in time for Friday’s game, though Wood won’t make his Dodgers debut until Tuesday in Philadelphia. The fourth pitcher, Mat Latos, was delayed by bad weather at the Miami airport. Relievers Jim Johnson and Luis Avilan will be available to pitch Friday.

Johnson, who was the Braves' closer before the trade, said he is content to be the setup man to Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Jansen will remain the closer, terming Johnson’s role as the “late-in-the-game-big-outs-guy.”

“Obviously, Kenley’s been one of the best in the game for a while. I’m not here to do anything except help pull the rope in the same direction,” Johnson said.