Newsday’s Ken Davidoff spoke to a "person informed of the Mets’ thinking," and learned that they will not be signing free agent closer Francisco Rodriguez. This is not because of the $10.5MM owed to Billy Wagner next year – that’s a sunk cost. It’s just that the Mets would rather try internal options than hand out another record-breaking contract. Davidoff does not expect the Mets to pursue Brian Fuentes either. He sees the Mets re-signing Luis Ayala and then focusing on starting pitching.
Davidoff examines the likelihood of the Angels, Cardinals, or Tigers signing Rodriguez. He seems to consider the Cards the favorite. The Cardinals may entertain re-signing Jason Isringhausen, but that wouldn’t take them out of the market for a closer.
A closer vacancy and a ton of money…not many teams fit that description. Will K-Rod have a disappointing winter?
