CHICAGO -- Trading for a pitcher currently out after recent Tommy John surgery isn’t exactly the most common of practices.

The Chicago Cubs added right-hander Arodys Vizcaino on Monday as part of a package that sent Paul Maholm and Reed Johnson to the Atlanta Braves.

And while Vizcaino was rated by Baseball America to be the second-best prospect in the Braves' system, he won’t be pitching again until spring training in 2013 because of Tommy John surgery back in March.

Hoyer believes the risk is limited, although he admitted that he has never traded for a player who is still on his way back from this type of surgery.

“It's a little bit unusual,” Hoyer said. “Obviously we took a lot of time to go through the medical reports. Obviously what we got back we felt good about. I think in the case of Tommy John, of course you're taking a risk because the guy’s injured. But in the case of Tommy John, the way it sounded from the medical people generally they perfected it to the point where people come back pretty strong.

“I think it's unusual to trade for an injured guy coming off surgery. Having the medical notes and knowing the success rate of Tommy John and knowing the number of guys that have come back strong it makes it a little bit easier.”