OOTP 21: Dodgers acquire Brandon Kintzler for Michael Busch, Jared Walker

The Dodgers and Marlins — no strangers when it comes to trades — consummated one on Thursday. Miami sent right-handed reliever Brandon Kintzler to LA for prospects Michael Busch and Jared Walker.

What?

First off, there’s absolutely no way real Andrew Friedman trades a 1st-rounder from 2019 for a 35-year-old reliever not named Ian Kennedy (and even that would be an extreme stretch), but let’s just roll with it.

The Dodgers have, clearly, needed bullpen help. The simulation has bought into the Dodgers’ bullpen problems narrative of the last half-decade, so it rolled the dice. That, and Caleb Ferguson‘s dreadful season is baffling. He has a .197 batting average against, a .294 BABIP and a 15.4 K/9. His 5.1 BB/9 and 1.9 HR/9 leave a lot to be desired, but maybe bringing in a guy like Kintzler will help out overall.

Kintzler is a sinkerballer who has a 4.24 ERA, 0.5 WAR in 17 innings of work. He doesn’t miss a ton of bats (5.8 K/9), but he limits his free passes (1.1 BB/9). He’s also a little more hittable than other relievers (11.1 H/9). He should fill a middle relief role for LA.

Busch, 22, was hitting just .198/.322/.337 in the California League. Despite the slow start, he was still one of the Dodgers’ Top 10 prospects. Walker, 24, was hitting .239/.360/.500 in 27 games with Double-A Tulsa. He’s not much more than organizational depth at this point.

Kintzler should (wink, wink) be available for Friday’s contest.