The Detroit Tigers beefed up their bullpen in a big way Wednesday, as they acquired veteran reliever Francisco Rodriguez in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers announced that they will receive minor league infielder Javier Betancourt and a player to be named later in the deal.
According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Tigers will take on the remaining $9.5 million on Rodriguez’s contract through 2016, which includes a $2 million buyout in 2017.
Tigers general manager Al Avila commented on the decision to bring in Rodriguez, per James Schmehl of MLive.com: “We had strong recommendations from our scouts on Frankie. He has the proven track record we targeted in our search for a bona fide closer.”
The 33-year-old K-Rod is entering his 15th MLB season. The six-time All-Star is seventh on the all-time saves list with 386, and he is coming off a 2015 campaign in which he racked up 38 saves for the moribund Brewers.
Since spending the first seven seasons of his MLB career with the Los Angeles Angels, Rodriguez has enjoyed stints with the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles and Brewers.
K-Rod was primarily a setup man during his first tenure with the Brew Crew before getting dealt to the O’s in 2013. He subsequently re-signed with Milwaukee prior to the 2014 season, though, and he has once again become one of the top closers in baseball.
Finishing games has been a well-documented issue for the Tigers in recent years. Joakim Soria had some success in 2015 with 23 saves and a 2.85 ERA before getting traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the likes of Joe Nathan, Bruce Rondon, Jose Valverde and many others have faltered in the ninth inning over the past few seasons.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Tigers had one of MLB’s worst bullpens last season:
Rodriguez is the active career leader in saves, and he set the single-season record with 62 saves in 2008.
While the Tigers struggled to the tune of a 74-87 record in 2015, they have a chance to become players in the AL Central once again in 2016 largely due to the presence of big-time hitters such as Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez, Victor Martinez and Ian Kinsler.
Holding a lead was a huge issue for Detroit even when it was among Major League Baseball’s best teams, so Rodriguez could go a long way toward the Tigers’ return to prominence.
In giving up Betancourt, the Tigers are losing a 20-year-old second baseman who hit .263 in High-A ball last season.
The youngster has undeniable talent, but it is a small price to pay if K-Rod ultimately puts an end to Detroit’s ninth-inning woes.
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