ROCKIES ACQUIRE GALARRAGA
The Colorado Rockies acquired pitcher Armando Galarraga from the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Parker Frazier.
What does it give the Colorado Rockies
Galarraga is staying in Triple-A, but he's a veteran starting pitcher who's best known for 'nearly' throwing a perfect game (one that was nullified by a blown call by umpire Jim Joyce, who admitted he missed the call). Galarraga generally hasn't been nearly as sharp since that great 2010 performance, briefly pitching for the Diamondbacks (2011) and Astros (2012) since, but seeing his ERA hover around 6.00. Frazier is much younger and is having a strong season in the minors (until recently), but the Rox are still in the NL West race so Galarraga can potentially help them more right now.
What does it give the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati has a fairly deep and strong group of starting pitchers, so even though Galarraga is enjoying a nice season in Triple-A he probably wasn't going to push for a rotation spot with the Reds. Cincy can instead let the younger Frazier keep developing in the minors, which isn't a bad maneuver since Galarraga hasn't been very effective at the major-league level the past couple of seasons. This is a good deal for both teams.
Fantasy impact
Frazier probably isn't close to helping the Reds (and even if he gets a late-season call-up he isn't a high strikeout pitcher, so might not be very useful in fantasy leagues). Galarraga might be worth a flier if he gets called up by the Rockies, but watch to see if he has a few good starts before taking a chance on the sometimes-superb, sometimes-mediocre journeyman. This deal doesn't affect any players currently at the major league level with either club.
