The Tigers have officially acquired reliever Francisco Rodriguez from the Brewers. Infielder Javier Betancourt will head to Milwaukee in the swap. Detroit will also send a player to be named in the deal. Detroit’s announcement mentions that it, too, will receive a PTBNL, but both teams’ general managers have indicated that is not a straightforward aspect of the deal. (Twitter links.)
K-Rod was something of a forgotten man in early-offseason discussions of relief trade chips, but it always seemed likely that he’d change hands. After all, new Brewers GM David Stearns has clearly been tasked with rebuilding. Rodriguez is obviously not a long-term piece, and his backloaded contract still has $9.5MM left to go (including the buyout of a 2017 option).
Detroit will pay the entirety of the remaining obligation. But with $2MM going to the buyout and another $2MM of salary deferred, some of that cost will be pushed into the future. It’s also worth noting that the $6MM option will really only represent a $4MM decision for Detroit, and could well end up being exercised.
Though he’s now nearly 34 years of age, Rodriguez has continued to be a reliable force at the back of the pen. He ended the 2015 season with 57 innings of 2.21 ERA pitching, striking out 9.8 and walking only 1.7 batters per nine along the way. Rodriguez also permitted a meager 6.0 hits per nine, leaving him with an outstanding (and career-low) 0.860 WHIP on the season.
It’s true that Rodriguez benefitted from a .234 BABIP last year, and an even lower one in the season prior, but he’s carried a .271 mark for his career and also put up a strong 46.4% groundball rate. Of greater concern, perhaps, is that Rodriguez has been increasingly homer-prone as his arm speed has dropped. He lost a full mile per hour off his average fastball velocity between 2014 and 2015, falling below 90 mph for the first time. Then again, that didn’t stop him from producing a 14.0% swinging strike rate — a level he hasn’t reached since he was with the Angels.
Rodriguez fills the stated desire of Tigers GM Al Avila to add a proven closer. He locked down 38 wins last year and has racked up 386 saves over his career, leading all active pitchers. While the value of the save as a statistic is plenty debatable, there’s little reason to fear that Rodriguez will be ruffled by high-leverage situations. And his acquisition will reduce the team’s need to spend more on the open market (or on other trade targets) to add pen help, clearing more resources to dedicate to starting pitching.
Meanwhile, the Brewers will not only shed some salary but will pick up a useful young player in Betancourt, who reached the High-A level last year at age 20. He currently sits at 11th among Tigers prospects, in the estimation of MLB.com, which says that he profiles more as a second baseman but is still capable of handling shortstop. Betancourt looks to be a contact hitter and hasn’t yet shown himself to be much of a long ball or stolen base threat. He slashed .263/.304/.336 in 531 plate appearances over the 2015 season, striking out only 44 times against 29 walks.
Venezuelan journalist Augusto Cardenas first reported the swap via Twitter. James Schmehl of MLive.com reported the inclusion of a PTBNL on Twitter, and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that Detroit would take all of Rodriguez’s salary.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
How many players have the brewers got from just trading him????
From what I have seen, it’s two. Nick Delmonico was the first trade.
Really nicely done by Tigers, if Betancourt’s the only piece going back. Frankie’s still got it, and the Tigers get him with a team option in 2017 and a low price. Closer market must be really dead for Brewers to sell this low.
I wouldn’t say low price, but a good price compared to other closers out on the market right now. Really it’s a $2M difference between the buyout and the salary for the 2017 season…
For two years of control of an established closer, a lower level minor league player isn’t a bad price for the Tigers to pay. Let’s just hope he doesn’t become the next victim of the Tigers’ bullpen curse.
I kind of thought the GM switch in Detroit might change the practice of acquiring aging former/current closers, (see, e.g., Joe Nathan, Joakim Soria), but the more things change . . . . At any rate, Rodriguez had an excellent year last season, so hopefully it works out for the Tigers.
Rodriguez is a control guy who never really relied on velocity. That would (hopefully) mean that he will continue to age while maintaining his success
K-Rod should do just fine. He’s under the radar, but very reliable. Time will tell, but looks like Tigers got better end of this trade.
And thanks Milwaukee! Brewers just got a little more beatable…
Since you don’t want an established closer, what would you like to see them do ?
Get an established closer with a bit more upside than “any minute”.
And what are you willing to pay/trade to get that reliever? For the price, this was an excellent get.
Agreed that it was a great deal, but I no longer feel comfortable with him as a closer. Always a lot of BB and now he’s not keeping the ball in the park, which means blown saves with multiple runs. Not that being a set up would be any better, but coughing up two runs in the seventh inning instead of the ninth allows a bit more time to catch up. I do like his durability; don’t remember him ever being on the DL. I think Soria is the better option; he just needed some additional time to rebound from his TJ surgery.
Tigers will really hope he can contribute well for 2 years, or at least VERY well for 2016. Otherwise, the high cost of the $4 million buyout will sting, or to be stuck with a washed up $6 million reliever on the books for 2017.
Not a horrible trade for either side. One thing I will say regarding Brewers pitchers, watch out for Junior Guerra (the 10/07 waiver claim). He’s killing it in the offseason leagues. Over 43.1 innings pitched (7 starts and 1 relief appearance) he’s posted a 3.12 ERA with just 9 walks (1.8/9) and 37 K’s (7.7/9)
This opens up another bullpen spot–If the Brewers want to go with Pena/Davies in the rotation–Guerra could be a huge sleeper piece.
K-rod’s more expensive than I’d like, but the Tigers didn’t give up more because of that. Good trade for the tigs. Hopefully sign Soria and I think our bullpen can be competitive.
How many established closers are getting LESS than what K-Rod is getting? He’s down right affordable.
That is super cheap! Wow! Good get by the Tigers. I wish Luhnow had called his buddy Stearns and done a similar deal to get KRod.
I know he’s a few years older and only two years of control, so no real comparison, but just note what the Red Sox paid for Kimbrel versus this, and Rodriguez arguably was the better pitcher last year.
It’s cheap in that the Tigers were only asked to part with a minor prospect, but the real exchange is salary relief. K-Rod has done everything asked of him as a Brewer, but there’s no need for a closer when you’re not planning on having a winning season anytime soon. The player in exchange was included just to pass the league’s sniff test. It was basically “here, take him.”
I would expect similar deals for Garza and Braun, if available.
Maybe not one as expensive as K-Rod, but many would argue that a quality closer is the one luxury you do want while rebuilding in order to keep up fan morale by successfully closing out the late leads that you do manage to get.
With the season he had in 2015, I’d be happy if the Brewers could get a bag of baseballs for Garza, much less a middling prospect.
Red Sox can afford to trade 4 prospects for Kimbrel.
Tigers can only afford to trade PTBNL for KROD.
That is just Reality.
1 – Kimbrel >>>>> K-Rod
2 – Almost everyone has said the Red Sox overpaid for Kimbrel
Tigers cannot shop at Nordstrom like the Red Sox.
They have to settle for shopping at Target. But every once in a while, Target bought stuff might be almost as good as Nordstrom bought stuff.
An ERA in the LOW 2s and a decent track record may make this a bargain.
This is the first time I’ve ever heard of someone bashing the Red Sox spending power because of a better farm rather than a bigger check book.
The deal was lopsided. That is masked because the Red Sox are loaded with prospects.
The Tigers are paying Miggy, Verlander, Kinsler, Anibal and V-Mart a combined $105M in 2016, those aren’t Nordstrom prices, those are Gucci prices, its literally the opposite of Target prices.
Why would you say this? $4M on K-Rod when youre paying VMart $18M is simply crazytalk.
It is not the money I am talking about. It is the PROSPECTS.
That wasn’t clear in your post. I understand now.
I agree, Detroit doesn’t have a good farm. But when you use the terms “buying” and “shopping” people are going to think money first, not players.
The Tigers already have their Nordstrom players, that’s why they are not shopping there. They can only afford so many. Just like most teams.
No, Kimbrel is a little better than K-Rod, but just a little. And last year, K-Rod was definitely better, with a 0.86 WHIP and a 2.2 ERA. Kimhrel’s WHIP was over 1 (still good) and ERA slightly higher.
Obvously, Kimbrel’s younger and is under control longer, so more valuable. But performance-wise I’m not so sure.
“Kimbrel is a little better than K-Rod, but just a little.”
Since Kimbrel debuted:
Kimbrel: 348 IP, 1.63 ERA, 1.72 FIP, WHIP: 0.927
K-Rod: 372 IP, 2.92 ERA, 3.39 FIP WHIP: 1.146
Thats a mountain of better, not a “little”. Kimbrels the most elite closer in MLB history, K-Rod is “merely” pretty good.
The reality is that KROD was actually a little better than Kimbrel last year. Perhaps over the next 2 years, you can expect Kimbrel to be higher by maybe 1 to 1.5 WAR total. Is the price tag difference really worth it for a guy who pitches a total of 60 innings?
I don’t think calling Kimbrel better, even quite a bit better, than K-Rod is much of a stretch, even though K-Rod is quite good.
But to call Kimbrel “…the most elite closer in MLB history is insane. More elite than Mariano Rivera? Trevor Hoffman? Rollie Fingers? Lee Smith? Just to name a few.
No. Just no.
Now, if you want to try to say Kimbrel is the best closer right now, at least you can make a strong case for that. But he absolutely is NOT the most elite closer in history.
If you look at the big picture, the numbers most important for Detroit between the two would be $11.250MM Vs. $5.5MM and $24.5MM Vs. $11.5MM. They get a closer close to or equal to one that costs twice as much for 2015 and over twice as much for the next two years.
That’s enough to get another BP piece.
It really doesn’t matter who has the best closer. The best closer doesn’t always make the playoffs, and seldom makes the WS. Making the playoffs and the WS is the actual goal. This was a step in that direction for the Tigers.
KROD had a lower ERA and a higher WAR than Kimbrel last year.
John Lackey had a lower ERA and higher WAR than King Felix last year. I’d like to know if anyone going forward would take Lackey over King Felix.
LOL! “Nah bro Lackey’s better than King!”
Also: LOL at single season reliever samples.
Cmon people, get it together now. K-Rod is good and underrated, but Kimbrel as it stands, is the greatest RP of all-time, statistically. He has a 1.72 FIP over 348 innings fer cryin out loud!!!
Your samples comment proves an important point.
RELIEVERS (not talking about starters) don’t matter that much as long as you have a guy that is at least average. They only pitch 60 innings.
The difference between KROD and Kimbrel over the course of a year is probably less than 1 win per year (as measured by WAR).
Relievers don’t matter much… hmmm.
Tell that to the Royals who, with the best bullpens in baseball went to the WS in back to back years. Or the Tigers in 2014 who’s insanely powerful starting staff was humiliated by Baltimore with a far better bullpen. Or the any other team in any other year that had the same philosophy that relievers don’t matter much as long as they’re average and lost in the playoffs to a team that could win late in the game because of a better bullpen…
You are talking about FOUR PLAYERS together, not just ONE. Four dominant relievers can make up for the lack of one dominant starter, no doubt. But you need 4 of them.
Tigers lost because they did NOT have a guy who was at least average in the eighth inning. Inexplicably, Joba was put into the most high leverage innings in the postseason.
Relievers don’t matter much as long as they are just average? I think 2 David’s, Dombrowski and Glass , would strongly disagree.
A J Preller is happy that at least one of those David’s disagrees.
Dombrowski’s failure is that he went all the way down to guys like Joba to handle the 8th inning. That is far from average.
depends on the salary. If I am contending and playing for this year, that makes a difference. If I can get Lackey for 10MM less for the year, than I can add another player as well. So if I’m the Angels, for instance, and I can add Lackey and bring back Kendrick for 2b for the same price as Felix alone, because I’m up against the Luxury Tax, welcome back Howie!
I’m not sure what the implication is here, but this is essentially based on 11 appearances over a one-month stretch near the beginning of the year. Kimbrel gave up 10 ER in 9 2/3 of an inning in 11 appearances in late April and early May.
In all other appearances, he went 49 2/3 innings with 28 hits, 61 Ks, and a 1.27 ERA. This might sound like cherry-picking, but I’m illustrating that this was a small slump (the first of his career) and that his performance wasn’t a scatter-shot thing. Once he righted himself, he was once again his sublime self.
Take away the worst 11 appearances of K-Rod and what do you get?
You cannot pick and choose like that. Virtually all players have stretches of going cold/hot.
Has Avila outflanked Dombrowski?
Interesting dynamic here as the Tigers actually got the BETTER closer in 2015.
Kind of obvious which one of the two better translates to pitching in the AL east though, the one that misses more bats. Krod small sample size in Baltimore but was not pretty.
I think you are confusing velocity v. missing bats.
KROD had a 9.8 K/9 and a 5.6 K/BB in 2015.
Now look at Kimbrels k/9
A K/9 of almost 10 is good enough to “miss bats”.
If Kimbrel is a “10”, then K-Rod is a solid “8.5”… at about 1/2 the prospect cost.
I don’t think Krod would even unseat Uehara as the closer on the Red Sox
maybe not. But Uehara is not on the Tigers, and K-rod is not on the Red Sox. K-Rod is still a closer. Uehara just became set up.
Just because Uehara is a great reliever, does not mean the K-Rod is not.
1 year isn’t a large sample. At all.
Phil Hughes had a Cy Young vote last year. Going into this season, would you have taken him over Sonny Gray or Dallas Keuchel, 2 of the top 3 finishers in this year’s Cy Young voting? (Which gets announced tonight I believe)
doesn’t matter who was better last year. what matters is which one can help his team to the playoffs in 2016.
Agree. Next two years, K-Rod has a good chance to be 90% of Kimbrel for 1/2 the prospect cost.
And half the salary
This trade is a superb one for Detroit, as long as the PTBNL isnt from their top 5 prospects or their 1st rd draft pick from last year. K-Rod’s never been bad at his job and worth his last few contracts. He’s really underrated to be honest and a guy many teams should have been in on.
Wow, the Reds just lost another obvious suitor for Chapman. It seems they are really going to lose out on the potential trade bounty he offered.
I don’t think Cincinnati should be worried to much at all here. Other teams will certainly still be interested in Chapman, and will pay up.
If Chapman is traded, the return most definitely should be better than what Milwaukee got today.
Detroit could not have been a serious option for Chapman since they would not pay the asking price for one year of services. They will not,(or should not) deal any pitchers they got last summer and I bet that’s what the Reds wanted.
I agree that he was unlikely to go to Detroit. However, trade prices always go up with more suitors, no matter whether they are realistic suitors or not. At the very least, the Tigers could have been used as a red herring by the Reds to get an additional prospect in a deal.
Yes, but only to a point. Detroit probably was never really likely to get Chapman, since their farm system is still not very strong overall. Certainly improved a lot in the last few months, but when compared to other teams that could be possibly be kicking the tires on Chapman, I’d be hard pressed to believe that Detroit would be the one with the best set of prospects to pick from out of any number of possible suitors.
At the end of the day, I’d imagine that the teams that were looking most strongly at Kimbrel and/or Chapman probably still are for the most part.
I doubt the Tigers had the prospects necessary for Chapman.
Fulmer for Chapman would have been enough (likely).
In a market full of RP, Brewers may have been better served dealing him at the deadline
Set up or closer?, moving to the al should be interesting
Moving back to the AL. Seven years in LA and one in Baltimore.
But K-rod is a much different pitcher now than he was in Los Angeles, and even in Baltimore.
He no longer can bring the high heat, but he has learned to pitch with sub-90 velocity.
I think he will be just fine, and the only real concern is his home run rate. But Detroit is a much better pitcher’s park than Milwaukee. The AL Central in general has better pitcher’s parks than the NL Central.
That all said, his appearances can sometimes be “interesting.” I have seen on some Brewers fan boards K-Rod being referred to as TPOT (Thirty pitches of terror). He seems to be less effective when used in non-save situations (but it seems like a fair number of closers are like that).
Milwaukee got probably about as good of value as they were going to get, and cleared some salary. and Detroit got a solid closer without having to pay Kimbrel or Chapman prices. Decent trade for both sides.
After Nathan, and the Big Potato, Tiger fans will appreciate “only” thirty pitches to close out a game. Its a step in the right direction.
MLBTR had Soria pegged for 3/$18Mm. I wonder how much higher than that his agent wanted, to have Detroit make this deal. Both Soria and the Tigers liked each other and it looked like a match. No way Detroit adds him now since Soria wants a closer role and closer money
Perhaps Soria will replace KRod in Milwaukee. I know they are unlikely to contend, but you still need a veteran presence in the pen. He could help groom the next closer and be a decent trade chip in a year or two.
I don’t think Milwaukee would be interested in Soria at this time unless he were willing to accept a shorter deal and/or less money per season.
The bullpen was an area of strength for the Brewers last season. There are decent in-house options (at a much, much lower price tag) for Milwaukee to roll out as a closer. They still have guys like Jeremy Jeffress, Will Smith, Corey Knebel (considered a future closer when he was traded to Milwaukee last off-season), Tyler Thornburg, Michael Blazek (if he’s back healthy), Yonathan Barrios, and several other possible options.
Some veterans in the bullpen there probably wouldn’t be a bad idea, but they have some solid, cost controlled options there.
But, price and years be damned, the fit could be there. No argument here.
I have to believe that they got him as a 7th or 8th inning option; they still need a closer.
Krod was a great closer last year…
I’m fine with him closing.
His peripherals indicate that he got away with a lot the past two seasons. He’s always been a closer with a high BB rate, which in the past has been neutralized by a high DP rate, but the past two seasons, his HR rate has gone up considerably, which combined with his usual free passes, equals more blown saves with multiple runs.
I’m sure it will depend on what else the off-season provides them. I will be fine if he closes, as long as more bullpen pieces are acquired. SIGN TONY SIPP!
It has been a while since the Tigers had a closer with a WHIP under 1 and a K/9 almost 10. He is not a power pitcher, but that does not mean he is “miss bats” pitcher.