Nationals Trade For Brandon Kintzler: Fantasy impact

The Nationals added yet another arm to their bullpen. This time, they traded for Brandon Kintzler. How does this impact fantasy baseball going forward?

The Washington Nationals dealt with bullpen problems all season. They went through at least three closers by the end of April. The team solved those issues by trading for Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle (recapped here). With two solid additions to the bullpen, many thought the team was done.

However, that clearly was not the case. About 30 minutes before the 2017 Trade Deadline passed, it was announced that the Nationals traded for Minnesota Twins closer Brandon Kintzler.

This was a surprise to some. With Madson and Doolittle, the Nationals also have Matt Albers, Enny Romero and Matt Grace. Also, Kintzler does not have the best numbers despite being a closer.

Kintzler has 28 saves, fourth-most in the league, but the rest of his number are pedestrian. He has a 2.78 ERA, 1.147 WHIP, 5.4 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 45.1 innings. The high ratios and low strikeout rate do not serve well as a closer, but Kintzler’s made it work.

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Yet, there are some good things about Kintzler’s game. He has a 53.9 ground ball and 22.7 fly ball rate. His 53.5 percent medium contact is a little high but he has a 78.3 strand rate.

Kintzler is 80.3 percent owned as a 23rd round pick. Saves can be found late. There was little competition on the Twins roster to push Kintzler out of the role anyway. Now, he will have two or three other relievers to compete with in the Nationals bullpen.

As a result, this kills any value Kintzler has in standard leagues. He will likely pitch in the seventh inning in front of the two former A’s relief pitchers. He may record a hold here and there but the high ratios and lack of strikeouts don’t make him worth holding onto.

However, in NL-only leagues, he may have some value. The pool of relief pitchers is essentially cut in half so any relief pitcher with consistent playing time and especially on a winning team is worth something.

Moving over to Minnesota, they now have a new closer. According to Roster Resource, the Twins new closer will be a platoon between Taylor Rogers and Matt Belisle.

Rogers may get the first crack at a save but with his recent track record that may not last long. He has nine earned runs, two blown saves and two holds in his last five appearances.

Rogers has a 3.79 ERA, 1.289 WHIP, 7.1 K.9 and 2.9 BB/9 with 24 holds in 40.1 innings. Belisle has a 4.64 ERA, 1.336 WHIP, 8.8 B/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 42.2 innings. He also has 17 holds. Belisle is worth a stash if Rogers blows his shot.

Next: Yankees bolster rotation with Sonny Gray

To recap, Kintzler’s value plummeted with the move to Washington. Rogers is the immediate closer for Minnesota but Belisle is a sleeper in that bullpen. There were a lot of big moves over the last two days. This may not seem like one of them but this had a big impact on a few players.

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