In fear of losing their All-Star slugger Prince Fielder to free agency this upcoming offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers went out and made a trade that they think will help their chances of winning it all this season just hours after watching Fielder take home All-Star MVP honors. In need of some help to fill the back end of their bullpen, the Brewers acquired Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, better known as 'K-Rod' along with cash in exchange for two players to be named later. At the start of the season, the Brewers were chosen by many to not only run away with the division, but to contend for a World Series title after acquiring two All-Star caliber arms in Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum.
Since then, the Brewers have been one of the best teams in the league at home (33-14), second to only the Philadelphia Phillies (34-15) who also own the best record in the Majors at 57-34. However, they've been unable to separate themselves from the division rival St. Louis Cardinals who they headed into the All-Star break with, tied for first place. While the Brewers have had one of the more potent offenses in the NL for years now with Ryan Braun and Rickie Weeks to accompany Prince Fielder, their relief corps has been an issue, ranking 10th in ERA among National League bullpens. Aware of that stat, Brewers GM Doug Melvin addressed that area by dealing for a 3-time AL Saves leader and 4-time All-Star.
With a dominant closer already established in the bullpen for Brewers manager Ron Roenicke in John Axford, the closer role will be shared as K-Rod will primarily be used as a set-up man. Not only does sharing the role of the closer make sense when considering the job Axford has done (23 saves in 25 save opportunities), but also because having Rodriguez finish 21 more games this season would mean his expensive $17.5 Million option for 2012 comes into play. Though he's been among the games elite closers since 2005, the transition to the set-up role won't be an unfamiliar one as he served as a set-up man for Angels closer Troy Percival from 2003-2004 before getting the full-time closing job in '05. Having converted 23 saves in 26 opportunities with a 3.16 ERA though the first half of the season with the Mets, Rodriguez is 3 years removed from his record-setting 62 saves in 2008 which helped him land a 3-year, $37 Million contract in the Big Apple.
The first thing that comes to mind regarding the Brewers' mid-season acquisition, is the move they made in 2008 to bring C.C. Sabathia over from the Cleveland Indians. The trade for C.C. jump-started Milwaukee down the stretch as Sabathia single-handedly carried the Brew Crew to a Wild Card berth, helping them capture their first Postseason appearance since 1982. Although Rodriguez won't have as much of an impact Sabathia did, he certainly bolsters their bullpen which has been their biggest concern.
The deal could also spark a fire sale for the Mets who are also rumored to shop All-Star's Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. With both players in the final year of their contracts and expected to test free agency this December, the Mets are looking to shed as much salary as possible. For months, Jose Reyes was rumored by many sources as potentially being traded to the San Francisco Giants. Those talks have cooled down since then, with the stove now heating up on Beltran. With a lackluster offense that's been piggybacked by a dominant pitching staff thus far, either player would be the perfect piece to San Francisco's postseason puzzle in hopes of winning back-to-back World Series titles.
While Reyes who's six years younger than Beltran would make more sense for the long-term, Beltran's presence for the remainder of the season could also provide a significant jolt to the Giants' postseason campaign given he had one of the best series' in postseason history in '04 while a member of the Houston Astros. With All-Star's Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum along with blue chip prospects Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner officially all off limits, who exactly could the Giants deal to pry Reyes/Beltran out of New York's hands, Jonathan Sanchez?
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