The Baltimore Orioles fortified their bullpen on Tuesday, acquiring Francisco Rodriguez from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for infield prospect Nick Delmonico. The move was an aggressive one by Dan Duquette, who parted with an organizational asset for a rental reliever.

Rodriguez gives Buck Showalter another late-inning option, which is significant. Jim Johnson leads baseball with 35 saves, but the 30-year-old has a 3.55 ERA and six blown chances. Even when Johnson converts a save, he often flirts with disaster.

The Brewers signed Rodriguez, who was out of baseball, earlier this season and he debuted on May 16. In 25 appearances, the 31-year-old registered 25 strikeouts, a 1.09 ERA and was a perfect 10-for-10 in save chances.

The addition of Rodriguez adds depth to Baltimore's bullpen and keeps him from the rival Boston Red Sox, but also opens the club up to controversy. The first time Showalter calls for K-Rod in the ninth inning instead of Johnson -- assuming it happens -- thousands of words will be written about the decision.

The Orioles entered Thursday's action 3.5 games back of the Red Sox in the American League East -- the Tampa Bay Rays have three games on Baltimore. They currently have a half-game edge on the Texas Rangers for the second Wild Card slot.

Duquette took a huge gamble in dealing one of his top prospects for Rodriguez, who is only under contract through the end of the season and isn't even supposed to be closing games over the incumbent Johnson. Projections for Delmonico's professional career are nuanced.

He began the season as Baltimore's No. 4 prospect (according to Baseball America). He turned 21 earlier this month and the former sixth round pick (2011) was hitting .243/.350/.469 for High-A Frederick. Manny Machado is expected to man the left side of the infield for many years to come, reducing Delmonico's Major League options in the coming seasons. The Orioles might, however, find themselves with holes at first or second base around 2015 when Delmonico is expected to be at the highest levels.

Among Baltimore's top 10 prospects, Jonathan Schoop (21, Single-A Aberdeen) is the only player other than Delmonico that projects as an infielder capable of playing on the right side.

The issue is compounded by what is perceived as middling depth. Most respected scouting outlets rank the Baltimore farm system somewhere towards the top of the second half of baseball. Moving Delmonico, either losing his future production or upcoming trade value, in this type of deal could prove to be short-sighted and costly.

Grade for Orioles: C-

If the Orioles make the playoffs and Rodriguez pitches well from now through October, Duquette will avoid criticism for gambling on the team's future. If you must justify the move, scan the state of the AL East. The Yankees have fallen out of the division race and the Red Sox have huge holes in their bullpen as the Rays surge to the top of the heap. The window for the Orioles to take the division might just be now.

Grade for Brewers: A

Following the suspension of Ryan Braun, the Brewers officially dropped out of the playoff race. They found a diamond in the rough when they signed Rodriguez to a minor league deal in mid-April, getting great production and then flipping him for a nice prospect amid organizational drama.

Corey Hart has had trouble staying healthy, which makes Delmonico an option at first base around the 2016 season. The Brewers began the season with the 23rd rated system in baseball (per Baseball America) and this deal helps add some much needed depth.