The San Diego Padres didn’t wait until the July 31 Major League Baseball trade deadline to deal one of their key pieces. The club announced on Thursday that it sent closer Fernando Rodney to the Miami Marlins for minor league pitcher Chris Paddack.
The #Padres acquire RHP Chris Paddack from the Marlins, send RHP Fernando Rodney to Miami: https://t.co/0AfYSiTzNN
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 30, 2016
Marlins Acquire Fernando Rodney
The 39-year-old is in his 14th big league season. He made his debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2002, and has also pitched for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Seattle Mariners, and the Chicago Cubs. After spending the early years of his career in the middle relief/setup role, he became a full-time closer for the Tigers in 2009. Rodney has been named to two AL All-Star teams (2012, 2014) and saved a career-high forty-eight games in both those seasons, leading the league in 2014.
Rodney has experienced a resurgence of dominance in 2016. He is 17/17 in save opportunities and boasts a microscopic 0.31 ERA.
San Diego is 33-46 and currently sits at the bottom of the NL West, 15.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants. Teams that have no chance at contention have no need for a dominant closer, so dealing him for young talent makes sense for Padres GM A.J. Preller.
“The results speak for themselves, he was at the top of the list for us.” – A.J. Preller on acquiring RHP Chris Paddack
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 30, 2016
Paddack was drafted by the Marlins in the eighth round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Cedar Park High School (TX). The 20-year-old was 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA for the Low-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League this season.
An Acquisition for October
The Marlins are 41-37 and sit 5.5 games behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East. They currently hold the second NL Wild Card spot. It is yet to be seen how this move will shake up their bullpen, considering current Marlins closer A.J. Ramos is 24/24 in save opportunities with a 1.74 ERA. Whether Rodney becomes the setup man or bumps Ramos out of the closer role, the Marlins’ bullpen currently ranks 13th in MLB with a 3.78 ERA. This move was definitely made with October in mind.
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