Fernando Rodney

Rodney was one of only two quadragenarians to pitch in the majors last season, with Bartolo Colon, of course, being the other. He opened the season as the Twins' closer, posting a 3.09 ERA and 1.40 WHIP with 25 saves before being dealt to Oakland in a waiver deal in early August. From there, Rodney transitioned to setup duty, garnering eight holds. For the season, Rodney's control was characteristically spotty (11.2 BB%). He kept his ERA in check with a healthy 24.6 K% along with a seven homers in 64.1 frames. Rodney continued to rely on a fastball and changeup, throwing his 94-mph four-seamer over 70% of the time. He'll enter 2019 in the same role as he ended last year, setting up Blake Treinen. Rodney's generally high WHIP limits his fantasy utility to leagues scoring holds, but if Treinen gets hurt, the A's could turn to their elder statesman to handle the ninth inning.

Despite a hefty 4.23 ERA, Rodney shot 39 imaginary arrows, tying for the fourth most saves in the majors. What's really odd about the bloated ERA is Rodney only served up three homers in 55.1 innings. All of Rodney's runs allowed occurred in 11 outings, as he blanked the opponent in the other 50. Rodney's workload was the lowest it's been since 2011. He didn't miss time; the Diamondbacks were simply judicious with how they deployed him. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Rodney's game as he works into his 40s is his ability to maintain a 95-plus mph heater and post double-digit strikeout rates. He signed with the Twins this offseason and figures to enter the season as their closer. That said, his 4.5 BB/9 over the past three seasons makes him a volatile option, and the presence of fellow "proven closer" Addison Reed in the Twins' pen could keep Rodney's leash short.

Rodney has played for four different organizations over the past two seasons, taking him on a loop of the country with home games in Miami, Chicago, Seattle and San Diego. His stint with the Padres was classier than Ron Burgundy, with just one earned run and only 13 hits allowed in 28.2 innings of work. Rodney was untouchable, but whatever mojo he had going completely disappeared once he left San Diego. In 36.2 innings after the trade to Miami, Rodney gave up 24 earned runs, five home runs and more than a hit per inning. Rodney now carries the Proven Closer label, though, and he'll slide right into that role atop an otherwise uncertain Diamondbacks bullpen. Chase Field is a dangerous park to pitch in, and whether he helps or hurts a fantasy ballclub in the ratio categories is a dicey question, with the answer possibly changing on a week-to-week basis. Still, at some point in a fantasy draft, saves find a desperate suitor, who's happy to buy them regardless of the dangers ahead. Rodney again could wind up a huge bargain if prospective owners can swallow the risk.

We're getting close to the end of the road for Rodney, who is now four years removed from his unicorn season in 2012. True, he wasn't bad in 2014 either, but last year was one of the worst of his career, and he can no longer rely on the big strikeout to bail himself out when he's walked the bases full. The Mariners finally gave up on him in August, and the Cubs decided to throw a dart at him. Rodney showed new life with his new team, giving up just one run and eight hits in 12 innings while striking out 15, but that was likely short-lived, as the 38-year-old right-hander was likely enjoying being part of a pennant race after a disappointing season in Seattle. The Padres signed him to a one-year contract, where he'll be the leading candidate to begin the season as the team's closer after saving 236 games in his career. However, he'll face competition from Kevin Quackenbush and as last year showed, he's hardly a sure thing to keep the closer role.

Rodney led baseball in saves last year with a franchise-record 48 in his first season in Seattle – and ranked 16th in ERA and 26th in WHIP among closers (min. 20 save chances). Despite putting a runner on in 34 of his 51 save opportunities, Rodney blew only three saves. Behold the "Fernando Rodney Experience," as it was dubbed in Seattle. The rollercoaster never stops, but only rarely does it crash. Rodney's mid-90s fastball and nasty changeup can dominate batters, but aside from his historic 2012 season, he has always battled control problems. It's easy to overlook that when he's racking up saves, but even if the rollercoaster stays on the tracks this season, he's unlikely to duplicate his 2014. Fifty save chances are rare, and if the Mariners' offense improves, there could be fewer close games. Rodney is also 38 this year.

Rodney entered the 2013 season locked in as the Rays' closer following one of the best reliever performances in MLB history in 2012. He had a slow start to the season through April and May, then turned it back on for the remainder of the season. He finished the season with a 3.38 ERA, but also had eight blown saves. Despite some rocky performances, he was clutch when it counted for the Rays, posting a 0.82 ERA in 10 games in September. He used his potent fastball/changeup combo to boost his strikeout rate to 11.1 K/9, but saw his walk rate increase to a pre-2012-like 4.9 BB/9. He clearly still has the skillset and poise to close games at the major league level, but could work in a setup role if he signs with a club with an established closer.

An injury to incumbent closer Kyle Farnsworth at the start of the season gave Rodney the chance to close again, and he responded with one of the best single-season performances for a closer in MLB history. He notched 48 saves in 50 opportunities and 76 strikeouts to go along with a 0.60 ERA, the lowest total for a pitcher throwing at least 50 innings in a season. He received the MLB Delivery Man of the Year and AL Comeback Player of the Year awards for his efforts in 2012. He throws with a mid-90s fastball that is mixed with an excellent changeup that averages a 14 mph difference. He will be a top-tier closer on draft day in 2013, but as his situation showed, the closer position can be quite unstable in Tampa Bay, which is a reason to be wary.

Rodney opened 2011 as the Angels' closer, but an early-season bout with wildness cost him the job. Rodney pitched well for most of the season, but his control problems popped up again at the end of the season and he ended with a 26:28 K:BB ratio. Still, he did have a 7.3 K/9IP and his groundball rate was 58 percent of batted balls. After signing with Tampa Bay, he's unlikely to unseat Kyle Farnsworth for the closer's job. However, strange things have happened in the Rays' bullpen in the past - like Kyle Farnsworth winning and keeping the closer's job all year last season.

Rodney became the Angels' closer last season following the midseason trade of incumbent Brian Fuentes. Rodney was a bit erratic thanks to 35 walks in 68 innings, so he is not guaranteed to enter this season in the same role in a bullpen that includes Kevin Jepsen and free-agent acquisition Scott Downs. Rodney is still worth a later-round pick since he will likely get the first crack at the ninth-inning role, but don’t be surprised if he cedes the spot at some point.

Rodney snagged the Tigers' closer job out of spring training last season and never let go. He finished the season with a career-best 37 saves, failing to convert on just one chance. Of course, a look at his overall stats (4.40 ERA, 1.467 WHIP, 61:41 K:BB ratio) shows that Rodney wasn't very successful when pitching in non-save situations. Still, Rodney picked a great time to put together a career year as he signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Angels. His fantasy value will take a hit since he'll likely move to a set-up role behind Brian Fuentes, although he could still get save chances after Fuentes' struggles last season.

Rodney is likely to lose his shaky hold on the Tigers’ closing role this winter as the team has indicated it would like to find a short-term option through free agency or trade. The team doesn't have a lot of faith in Rodney's ability to close after his inconsistent 2008 season. His biggest problem last year was the increase in his walk rate. He still has good stuff as his strikeout rate indicates, but the deteriorating command is a bad sign. Injuries may have had something to do with that as Rodney spent a significant amount of time on the disabled list with arm troubles. The Tigers believe Rodney's ideal role is setting up their closer, and they'll try to return him to that role this season. He'll still be worth keeping an eye on in fantasy leagues as he could earn a handful of saves in a set-up role.

Rodney struggled with arm problems last season and didn't really fully get on track until August. He still managed to post a nice strikeout rate despite the arm issues and the Tigers still consider him an integral part of their bullpen. Unfortunately, they've also said they don't consider Rodney an option to close, even with Joel Zumaya hurt. Still, with only Todd Jones ahead of him on the depth chart while Zumaya sits out, Rodney makes an intriguing fantasy sleeper.

Rodney was one of the most dominant relievers in the league last season. He stayed healthy all year proving that his Tommy John surgery is well behind him. He even filled in for closer Todd Jones when he was injured. Rodney should be in line for saves behind Jones this season but he’ll compete for that honor with uber-hyped Joel Zumaya and his 100+ mph fastball. Even if Rodney doesn't pick up any saves he'll have value because of his ability to rack up the strikeouts.

Despite having the skill set to close, Rodney received a vote of low confidence when the team acquired Todd Jones, a former Detroit closer who had a resurgent year as the Marlins' fireman. Don't let the Tigers' lack of faith cast a pall over Rodney. His solid K/9 IP can be a fantasy asset in deeper leagues and he's likely to end up with at least a couple vulture saves.

Before the Tigers signed Ugueth Urbina last season, Rodney had been named the team's closer. Even after the demotion to set-up man, Rodney was still expected to be a major player in Detroit's bullpen, but he ended up missing the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. He's not scheduled to start throwing again until spring training, and it usually takes pitchers at least a year before they're able to return to pre-surgery form, so don't expect much from Rodney this season.

The closer for Triple-A Toledo most of the year (even with Matt Anderson present), Rodney's ERA was pretty ugly with the Tigers, but his strikeout rate lends some hope for success, if he can improve his control. See German, Franklyn.

Rodney pitched very well at Double-A and Triple-A last year and poorly at the major-league level in two trials, but the main thing we found out about Rodney last year was that he was 25, not 21 as the Tigers thought. Hence, he quickly went from possible "closer of the future" material to just another guy in the bullpen mix. His minor-league numbers from last year were good enough to merit a second look if not a second bid.