Fansided

Francisco Rodriguez will return to Brewers

By Stanford Crissey

Sep 20, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez (57) reacts after earning a save against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. The Brewers won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 20, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez (57) reacts after earning a save against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. The Brewers won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Veteran closer Francisco Rodriguez re-ups with Milwaukee

The long wait is over for Francisco Rodriguez, and now that the dust has settled, he finds himself back in the same place he already was.

Rodriguez, the veteran closer, has agreed to a two-year deal with his old team the Milwaukee Brewers, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman:

No details on the money are known as of now, so it’s hard to say whether the Brewers got a good deal here. It’s possible that they got a discount given how late in the offseason it is (like the Tigers did with Joba Chamberlain), but we don’t know anything for sure yet.

Nothing has been announced by the Brewers yet.

“K-Rod” spent last year with Milwaukee as the team’s closer, putting up a 3.04 ERA but a thoroughly mediocre 4.50 FIP in 68 innings. He was with Milwaukee from 2011-2013 as well, before being traded at the 2013 deadline.

K-Rod broke into the league with the Angels in 2002, where he was lights-out and became instrumental to their World Series run. Over the next few seasons he established himself as a premier closer, breaking the all-time saves record.

Things started to go downhill for him after leaving the Angels for the Mets in 2008, and in recent years he has become more of an average reliever as his strikeout rate has decreased.

Given the disparity between his status as a “proven closer” and his actual production, it’s not too much of a surprise that he lasted this long on the market.

K-Rod’s signing leaves Rafael Soriano as the lone big-name free agent left on the market as March approaches.

The Brewers head into 2015 as one of those teams where it seems like anything could happen; they could finish in first or fifth place and either way, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise. The team went 82-80 last year and most recently made the playoffs in 2011.

So K-Rod could be joining a contending bullpen, but could just as easily become a deadline trade chip. The Brewers’ success this year is dependent on a lot of variables, mainly whether Ryan Braun can return to being the slugger he once was. It’s a young team with a lot of question marks, and anything can happen.

More from FanSided

Home/Milwaukee Brewers