Fernando Rodney Traded to Miami: Fantasy Impact
By Bill Pivetz
In one of two trades that took place Thursday, the Miami bolstered their bullpen by adding veteran Fernando Rodney. He is still widely available in leagues.
We are one month away from the trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have trades now. The San Diego Padres continue to be sellers as they trade closer Fernando Rodney to the Miami Marlins for Single-A pitcher Chris Paddack. While Miami already has a closer, Rodney will still have great fantasy value in the second half of this season.
After a disappointing 2015 season, 4.74 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 16 saves out of 23 opportunities, he is having an amazing season this year. In 28 games, he has a 0.31 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 17 saves.
He’s allowed just one earned run this season. Rodney allowed at least one earned run in 22 games last season.
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It makes sense for the Marlins to trade for Rodney, and they didn’t have to give up much for him. Miami lost relief pitcher Carter Capps to Tommy John surgery earlier this season, giving A.J. Ramos the closer job.
Speaking of Ramos, he is having a pretty good year himself. In 33 games, he has a 1.74 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 11.0 K/9 and 24 saves. The only downside to his game is the high walk rate, 5.2 BB/9 this season.
Fernando Rodney could easily come in and replace Ramos as Miami’s closer. It’s a typical case of giving the veteran what he wants, just look at the Washington Nationals and their (injured) closer. ESPN’s Tristan H. Cockcroft feels the same way.
The length of outings by Ramos show that he could be used as a long reliever/set-up man for the rest of the season.
Another angle on MIA closer pick: since start of '14, A.J. Ramos has 39 G of 4+ outs, Fernando Rodney 7. Ramos = greater setup flexibility.
— Tristan H. Cockcroft (@SultanofStat) June 30, 2016
Miami was trying everything they could to remove Ramos as Miami’s closer during Spring Training. Before he got hurt, it looked like Capps would have been the closer this season. But alas, he got hurt and Ramos has succeeded so far.
Back to Fernando Rodney, he is still available in 30 percent of ESPN leagues. It remains to be seen if he will be Miami’s closer or if Don Mattingly will stick with Ramos in the ninth inning. Regardless, he has pitched well enough to warrant being owned in all fantasy leagues. I’ve written multiple articles about adding Rodney and will continue to do so.
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From a fantasy perspective, I like this move a lot. If named the closer, Fernando Rodney will get more save chances in Miami. The Marlins are 5.5 games behind the Nationals in the National League East and will, hopefully, be competitive all season. If he is not the closer, he is still a worthy add for his low ratio stats.