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National League

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
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Acquired LHP Joely Rodriguez from the Pirates in exchange for LHP Antonio Bastardo. [12/10]

The return on Bastardo is Rodriguez, a southpaw whom the Pirates recently added to the 40-man roster. Rodriguez has developed slowly, and has some growing to do before he's ready for big-league duty. The upshot here is a left-hander with a quality low-90s fastball. Alas, Rodriguez's heater isn't good enough to overcome his lackluster secondaries or command on its own. He'll need to make gains on those grounds to become a mainstay in the majors. Otherwise, Rodriguez will serve mostly as depth.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES
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Acquired LHP Antonio Bastardo from the Phillies in exchange for LHP Joely Rodriguez. [12/10]

Earlier in the offseason, Neal Huntington used Justin Wilson to acquire Francisco Cervelli. By grabbing Bastardo, Huntington may have effectively filled the gap Wilson vacated, albeit for only a year.

Bastardo lacks Wilson's physicality and top-end velocity. However, he boasts a quality fastball-slider combination and a small platoon split (his multi-year True Average against is .235 versus lefties and .246 when facing righties). The biggest drawback to Bastardo is that, while his stuff is good enough to consistently miss bats and barrels, he misses the plate often enough to issue more than four walks per nine innings. Obviously the Pirates are banking on the good outweighing the bad, Bastardo's ERA aligning with his FIP. If that happens, Bastardo should be part of a late-inning trio that also includes Mark Melancon and Tony Watson.

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Muboshgu
12/11
I love how this deal is so buried by all of the others. It's a smart move for Pittsburgh, and good to see RAJ finally realize he needs to rebuild.