The Milwaukee Brewers signed free agent relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez to a one-year contract on Friday, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. The deal is worth $3.25 million with another $550,000 in incentives, reports Mike Axisa of CBS Sports.
Rodriguez, 32, will return to the team for whom he pitched for parts of the last three seasons. He was acquired by the Brewers from the New York Mets in July of 2011 and was re-signed to one-year deals in 2012 and 2013. In July of 2013, the team dealt him to the Baltimore Orioles, but the right-hander will serve another stint in Milwaukee in 2014.
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In 2013, "K-Rod" had varying levels of success for his two teams. As a Brewer, he posted a 1.09 ERA and 10 saves in 24⅔ innings over 25 appearances; as an Oriole, his ERA jumped to 4.50 in 22 innings and he didn't record a save while serving as a set-up man to closer Jim Johnson. Overall, his 2.70 ERA and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings signal that there is a lot left in the tank for the right-hander, who debuted as a 20-year-old in 2002 and holds the all-time single-season saves record.
Although Rodriguez spent some time closing games for the Brewers in 2013, he will likely slot in as a set-up man in 2014. After his departure in July, Jim Henderson settled in as the team's closer and finished with 28 saves in 32 chances. Other top relief options for Milwaukee include Brandon Kintzler (2.69 ERA in 2013), Tom Gorzelanny (3.90), Rob Wooten (3.90), Donovan Hand (3.69) and Alfredo Figaro (4.14).
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