Brewers closer Francisco Rodriguez has been traded to the Baltimore Orioles for third base prospect Nick Delmonico.  Rodriguez will slot behind Jim Johnson in the Orioles bullpen and give them a boost in being able to shut down the back end of ball games.  This is a no brainer for the Orioles because they are certainly a contender right now, currently holding on to the second wild card slot for the American League, and they needed to bolster their pen.  Jim Henderson will likely take over the closing duties for the Brewers with Axford there to back him up. Let’s see how the trade affects both clubs, obviously stressing the fantasy elements.

Orioles: Baltimore have certainly bolstered their pen by adding the single season saves record holder.  K-Rod may not be what he once was, but he is a lot better than some of the options Showalter has been going with to try and get the ball to closer Jim Johnson.  I don’t see any chance that Johnson loses his closer job, so if you are in a non-holds league, K-Rod has no fantasy value.  Hopefully you didn’t just trade for him.  Johnson has converted his last 6 saves without giving up a run and currently leads the league in saves with 35.  There is no chance he is losing his job so fantasy owners should not worry about this trade.

Brewers: The Brewers closing job will likely go back to Jim Henderson, who did a fantastic job closing games for the Brewers before an injury earlier in the season.  He will be backed up by John Axford, but my guess is Henderson holds down this job from here on out.  The Brewers obtain third base prospect Nick Delmonico from the Orioles.  Delmonico was drafted in the 6th round in 2011 and the 20 year old is currently hitting a line of .244/.351/.471 at A+.  The Orioles currently have a left side of JJ Hardy at shortstop and Manny Machado at third so Delmonico was expendable.

– This trade is a no brainer for both teams.  The Brewers are going nowhere this season and can always use another prospect to develop, and the Orioles are improving their bullpen for what they hope is a pennant push and possibly deep playoff run.

Keep coming back to TheFantasyFix for write-ups on all important trades as we approach the deadline for detailed analysis on the impacts of the moves!