Fernando Rodney Traded to Athletics for Minor League Pitcher Dakota Chalmers

The Oakland Athletics continued to stockpile relievers Thursday by acquiring Fernando Rodney to aid in their playoff quest. 

The A's announced they traded minor league pitcher Dakota Chalmers to the Minnesota Twins in the deal. 

Rodney joins a loaded Oakland bullpen that ranks fourth in MLB with a 3.28 ERA and fifth with a .226 batting average against. 

The duo of Blake Treinen and Lou Trivino has done a lot of the Athletics' heavy lifting with a combined 138 strikeouts and 69 hits allowed in 114 innings entering Thursday. 

The A's acquired Jeurys Familia from the New York Mets prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. He's allowed no earned runs in 10 innings over eight appearances since joining the A's. 

Rodney has been solid in 2018 with a 3.09 ERA, 50 strikeouts and 25 saves in 43.2 innings. 

A third-round draft pick in 2015, Chalmers has only appeared in two games at High-A this season. The 21-year-old has a 4.08 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 121.1 innings over four minor league seasons. 

The Twins previously moved veterans Brian Dozier, Lance Lynn, Eduardo Escobar and Ryan Pressly and turned their focus toward 2019 and beyond. 

Oakland has been a pleasant surprise in the AL playoff race with a 68-47 record, leading the Seattle Mariners for the second wild-card spot by three games.