Francisco Rodriguez's Option Eliminated: K-Rod Available To Close Games For Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers reliever Francisco Rodriguez was one of the better relief arms on the market, but he had a $17.5 million option that would automatically vest if he had finished 55 games this year. He had already finished 34 for the New York Mets as their closer, so the option wasn't just an elephant in the room -- the elephant was smoking a cigar, blowing smoke in your face, and being unbelievably obnoxious like Robert DeNiro in Cape Fear.

When the Brewers traded for him, then, it was ostensibly to serve as the setup man for John Axford, which made a certain sense even if the option didn't exist. The two pitchers have been statistical equals this year, for the most part.

But tie goes to the bigger name, so the Brewers bought out the vesting option for K-Rod for an as-yet undisclosed amount, according to Ken Rosenthal, freeing the once-closer to be the Brewers' now-closer. By getting rid of the option, Rodriguez will be a free agent after this season.

It's possible that while Axford and Rodriguez have had similar success this year, it was more important to keep the latter pitcher happy. Whatever the case, the Brewers have a better bullpen than they did before the All-Star Game. We don't yet know what it's going to cost them. And chalk another one up for Scott Boras.

Is Mets' Bobby Parnell Ready For Big Job?

Francisco Rodriguez Trade: Brewers Fans Happy To Get 'Set-Up Man' From Mets

Francisco Rodriguez was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers from the New York Mets late Tuesday night, and SB Nation blog Brew Crew Ball summarized everything quite succinctly .

Before getting to the Brew Crew Ball reaction however, let's catch everyone up on the details. The Mets traded Rodriguez and $5 million in cash to Milwaukee for two prospects to be named later -- and apparently they're not any of the more important players coming up in the Brewers' farm system.

This means, according to Brew Crew Ball, that the Brewers will now have a completely dominant bullpen with LaTroy Hawkins and Takashi Saito relieving the starters before Rodriguez sets up for John Axford, who should continue in his role as closer.

Yes, it seems as though Rodriguez will be demoted to set-up duties in Milwaukee (the exact position his agent was against earlier this week). Not because K-Rod's not talented, of course, but because the Brewers would owe him much more money if he were to close 20 more games this season and Axford has done well so far this season.

To wit:

What does this mean for John Axford? My take: Nothing. John Axford is and will be the closer. Again, the Brewers will not let Rodriguez's option vest, so he can't close games. Milwaukee hasn't had any of their other bullpen options closing ahead of Axford. So I see no reason to believe that John isn't the closer still. The only way he might be taken out of that role is if he has a very large fall from grace. With how great he has been this year, I don't see that happening, do you? Rodriguez has publicly stated that he is willing to be a set-up man on a contending team. I think that's exactly why the Brewers went out and got him. 

There's plenty more at Brew Crew Ball. But they like it.

Mets Trade Francisco Rodriguez To Brewers

Tuesday night, the New York Mets traded relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez to the Milwaukee Brewers for two players to be named later, along with an unspecified amount of money.

That monetary payment will defray at least some (and perhaps all) of the $5 million that Rodriguez will earn through the remainder of this season. But of course there's more ... If Rodriguez finishes at least 55 games this season, a $17.5-million option for next season will vest. The Mets didn't want that happen, and you can be sure the Brewers don't, either (though the Brewers are on the hook for a $3.5-million buyout).

You can be sure that Rodriguez and his agent -- Scott Boras, naturally -- do want that option to vest. To that end, Boras just tried to warn away potential suitors who might be interested in Rodriguez as a set-up man rather than as a closer ... a group that quite likely does include the Brewers, who have a closer (John Axford) with 23 saves and a 2.83 ERA.

As it happens, Francisco Rodriguez also has 23 saves and his 3.16 ERA doesn't leave much room between them. But Axford's got more strikeouts, and has allowed (slightly) fewer home runs. Are the Brewers going to demote Axford in favor of Rodriguez's experience, just to keep Rodriguez happy and assure themselves of committing $17.5 million in 2012 they can't really afford?

I don't think so. Rodriguez might pick up a save here and there, but he's not going to finish another 20 games unless Axford gets hurt. He and his agent won't like it. But they're both smart enough to know that if Rodriguez is a good (and effective) soldier down the stretch, there will be a nice contract waiting for him this winter.

Meanwhile, the Mets need a new closer, and the top candidate is Bobby Parnell, who's actually pitched better than Rodriguez this season. If Parnell's not ready, veteran Jason Isringhausen, with 293 career saves, might pitch some ninth innings.

For much more about Rodriguez, the Mets and the Brewers, please visit Amazin' Avenue and Brew Crew Ball.

Francisco Rodriguez Won't Be Happy As Setup Man?

Remember when Francisco Rodriguez said he was open to becoming a setup man (at least with the right team)?

Well, there's a new agent in town (via Newday's Ken Davidoff):

Scott Boras confirmed that he is K-Rod's new representative, replacing Paul Kinzer. And baseball's most prominent, powerful agent worked quickly to dispute the industrywide notion that Rodriguez, because of a unique vesting option, will be dealt somewhere as a setup man this summer.

"Francisco Rodriguez is a historic closer," Boras said at the player availabilities at a ritzy area hotel. "He's not going anywhere to be a setup man."

--snip--

"Closers don't make good setup men," said Boras, who represented Eric Gagne when the former Cy Young Award-winning closer bombed as a Red Sox setup man in 2007. "Does anyone want an unhappy setup man in their clubhouse?"

Please someone write a book about Scott Boras and collect all the amazingly wonderful things he's said over the years. I guess this might qualify as wonderfully amazing, but was Gagne terrible in 2007 because he was unhappy? Or because he was just terrible, generally. The next year with the Brewers, Gagne was the closer long enough to get 10 saves but also wound up with a 5.44 ERA. I'm pretty sure most closers could be good setup men, especially if their agents convinced them it wouldn't cost them any money in the long run.

Anyway, as Davidoff points out, Rodriguez's no-trade clause includes only 10 teams, which leaves 19 others. So what happens if one of those teams already has a good closer and wants Rodriguez as a setup man? My guess is that he'll pitch well in that role, if only because not pitching might cost him a great deal of money on his next contract.

Scott Boras doesn't want his client deployed as a setup man, because if that happens a $17.5-million option for 2012 won't vest. But that option doesn't have to define the situation.

MLB Trade Rumors: Mets Reportedly Put Francisco Rodriguez, Jason Isringhausen On Trading Block

The New York Daily News (via MLB Trade Rumors) reports that the New York Mets will place relievers Francisco Rodriguez, Jason Isringhausen and Tim Byrdak on the trading block.

"They are really trying to move Isringhausen, and also Byrdak and K-Rod (before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline)," one of the sources said. "Those guys have pitched well, and they could help somebody."

The Mets still could call themselves contenders, but it's a bit of a stretch - they're 10-1/2 games behind the Phillies, and would have to go nuts down the stretch to become a factor in the wild card race. They're probably right to think that their general plan should be to sell, rather than to buy, at the MLB trade deadline.

The problem is that while Rodriguez, Isringhausen and Byrdak have all been good, they haven't been great, and not-great relievers tend not to fetch much. On top of that, Rodriguez has a gigantic buyout for 2012 that's going to make the last few months of 2011 really expensive for any team that trades for him, unless the Mets pay a lot of it themselves. There's also the possibility that Rodriguez could finish 55 games next year, causing his gigantic $17.5 million 2012 option to vest automatically. And it's hard to see any team going wild about the possibility of acquiring journeymen like Isringhausen or Byrdak, as respectably as they've pitched this year.

For more about the Mets, please visit Amazin Avenue.

Mets Shopping Francisco Rodriguez To Yankees, According To Report

The Mets are reportedly dangling reliever Francisco Rodriguez to the Yankees, Bob Klapisch reports.

Rodriguez will be paid $11.5 million this year and has a remarkable $17.5 million option and a $3.5 million buyout in 2012. I don't think there's much chance anyone will pick up that option on purpose (it vests automatically if Rodriguez finishes 55 games this year), so that means that at this point, Rodriguez will have to be paid about $9 million ($5.5 million for 2011, plus the $3.5 million buyout) before the contract expires. Rodriguez is still a good reliever (he has 42 strikeouts in 39.2 innings this year), but at that price, he would basically be a salary dump, meaning the Mets couldn't expect to receive much in return unless they pick up some of Rodriguez's salary.

Klapisch indicates that the Yankees are "only marginally interested," which makes sense. Not only is Rodriguez expensive, the Yankees really don't need him. Mariano Rivera is still great, David Robertson has been flat-out amazing, and Luis Ayala has stepped in and pitched quite well. They'll also get Rafael Soriano back eventually. They certainly could use Rodriguez - any team could - but there's no urgency for them to pay the price in money and prospects that the Mets would probably want them to. I'd say it's very unlikely that the Yankees will be acquiring K-Rod anytime soon.

For more on the Mets, check out Amazin Avenue. For the Yankees, there's Pinstripe Alley.