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Miami Marlins Acquire Veteran Reliever Fernando Rodney From San Diego Padres

By Mark Suleymanov
Published on: 05:47 PST, Jul 1, 2016

As they chase a spot in the postseason, the Miami Marlins have upgraded their bullpen by acquiring closer Fernando Rodney from the San Diego Padres, as first reported by Keith Law of ESPN. The Padres acquired Single-A pitcher Chris Paddack in the trade, Law noted.

Rodney, 39, was enjoying a stellar season in San Diego in his 14th season. The former two-time all-star has pitched to a minuscule 0.31 ERA with 17 saves in 28-and-two-thirds innings (28 games). The Dominican-born right-hander struggled last season with the Seattle Mariners, pitching to a 5.68 ERA through 54 games before being designated for assignment. Rodney latched on with the Cubs for 14 games to finish last season.

The owner of 253 career saves, Rodney signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Padres this offseason (with a $2 million club option for 2017) to try and reestablish himself. Now, he joins a Marlins bullpen that was in need of a reliable arm in the backend.

“Our guys at the back end have been really good, and this just makes us stronger,” Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly said to the Sun Sentinel. “We’re able to shorten the game. We look at it as we just added a guy that’s been rolling this year, has a history of being really good late in games, and we’re looking forward to just adding that piece to our ‘pen.”

The Marlins’ bullpen was devasted when right-hander Carter Capps underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this year. However, it has since rebounded thanks to the pitching of A.J. Ramos, Kyle Barraclough, and David Phelps. Ramos has served as the Marlins’ closer and through 33 games, sports a fantastic 1.74 ERA with an 11.0 K/9 rate and 24 saves. However, his control has been shaky as evidenced by his 5.2 BB/9 rate.

Phelps, a former New York Yankees swingman and current Marlins set up man, explained his enthusiasm to the Sun Sentinel about having Rodney in the Marlins’ bullpen.

“He was the most dominant closer in baseball a couple years ago with Tampa. His numbers are right there this year. It just makes our team better. It takes some stress off starters, and takes stress off our bullpen as well. We’re just excited to have another good arm in the bullpen.”

To acquire Rodney, the Marlins gave up Paddack, a 20-year-old starter who was an eight-round pick in the 2015 draft. He was dominating at the Class A level this year, allowing a mere nine hits through 28-and-one-third innings while sporting a 2-0 record with a 0.95 ERA.

The Austin, Texas, native was rated as the Marlins’ 17th-best prospect by Baseball America following the 2015 season. MLB.com also rated Paddack as the team’s 17th best prospect. With his sterling performance in the minors this year, his value was quickly on the rise.

“Paddack, we loved him,” said Mike Berger, Marlins assistant general manager. “If you heard our player development people for the last five or six days, it was challenging. And there was a lot of internal debate. Is it now versus wait? To add that type of strength, it made sense.”

The Marlins could still use some additional help — primarily a left-handed relief option — and Berger says that if the opportunity arises, the team will be improved.

“If there’s an opportunity to make this club better, our guys deserve it,” Berger said.

[Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images]

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