Transaction Scorecard: O's Send Nicky Delmonico to the Brewers for Francisco Rodriguez

With the approach of the non-waiver trade deadline, the beats have talked a lot about shoring up the right-handed side of the bullpen. Much of this talk focused on the potential acquisition of former O's Matt Lindstrom and Kevin Gregg, so it was a shock when last night Dan Duquette sent CI prospect Nicky Delmonico to the Brewers for Francisco Rodriguez. People with credentials and reputations have opinions.

Shall we have a look?

John Sickels, Minor League Ball: "...this is a good return for the Brewers, picking up a young power bat in exchange for a 31-year-old reliever who won't be part of Milwaukee's next good team. It is a win-now move for the Orioles, but that's OK too. They already have a couple of pretty good players at the corners."

Keith Law, ESPN (mostly paywalled, but the freebie clip says it all): "The Baltimore Orioles' acquisition of Francisco Rodriguez makes some sense, but the price they paid -- third base prospect Nick Delmonico -- for a rental reliever feels excessive, while the Milwaukee Brewers get more than they should have for two months of K-Rod's work."

Jay Jaffe, SI.com: "For the Orioles, who have bigger game in mind — not to mention Chris Davis at first — Delmonico was expendable, and Rodriguez fills a need."

R.J. Anderson, Baseball Prospectus (also partially paywalled, but section focusing on K-Rod is a freebie): "While Rodriguez is unlikely to keep his ERA this shiny moving forward, he does set off a chain reaction in the O's bullpen. His arrival means Buck Showalter can use Rodriguez, Darren O'Day, or Tommy Hunter in the sixth inning if needed; it also bumps a lesser reliever from the totem pole...Adding Rodriguez won't be the flashiest move of the deadline, but it will improve the Orioles"

Mark Polishuk, MLBTradeRumors.com: "Since Rodriguez may have been the best right-handed closing option available on the trade market, the Orioles have also done well to keep him away from teams who had more pressing needs at the back of their bullpens."

Matt Eddy, Baseball America: "Delmonico must make hay in the batter's box, because he's a fringy, though strong-armed, third baseman or potentially a first baseman. If he stays healthy, he could be ready for a big league audition during the second half of the 2015 season, though the bar is set high for young corner players...For his part, Rodriguez continues to miss bats and fond the strike zone despite his bust delivery, throwing with the same velocity he's had for these past four seasons, though he finds his fastball a bit less trustworthy than he once did."

Does any of this alter your opinion? Validate it?