ORIOLES ACQUIRE RELIEVER BRACH
The Baltimore Orioles acquired pitcher Brad Brach from the San Diego Padres for pitcher Devin Jones.
What does it give the Baltimore Orioles
In Brach, the Orioles land a decent reliever with a chance to make the ball club out of spring training in 2014. He appeared in 33 games with San Diego in 2013 (3.19 ERA), and totaled 109 appearances in the National League prior to the trade. He has a little upside at age 27 and is a decent acquisition for a Baltimore club with a few question marks in their relief corps.
What does it give the San Diego Padres
Jones is a former college reliever that the Orioles converted to the starting rotation (with mixed results). He's only 23 years old, so he may have a future in San Diego. However, he will first need to show better results in Double-A ball before getting a crack at the big leagues. He may not have enough pitches to be a starter at the big-league level, though.
Fantasy impact
Brach is a dark horse candidate heading into 2014, since he does have some closing experience in the minors. That said, he'll likely serve as a middle reliever in Baltimore. As for Jones, he's a long shot to reach the majors as anything more than a depth reliever.
