Hardly a surprise - Brewers reportedly maintain interest in K-Rod

[Mass Haas]

Given that Tom Gorzelanny is the only current veteran reliever, this report out of Baltimore on K-Rod could have been predicted by many.

[Samurai Bucky]

So K-Rod hasn't been able to sell his house? ;-)

[TURBO]

It seems that K-Rod is a lot older than 32, seems he's been around forever.

[MNBrew]

Not surprising, except I thought I remember Doug Melvin saying (around the Winter Meetings?) that they probably weren't going to go back in the direction of K-Rod.

 

I've thought all along that he's a decent option and I'm mildly surprised that they haven't signed him already. Then again, a later signing probably = a lower salary, which is probably just fine after his accepting the Brewers' arbitration offer and screwing up the payroll flexibility a couple years ago.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Maybe this is how they intend to rebuild the farm system. Sign K-Rod to a one year deal every year, and trade him in July for a prospect or two. 5-6 years from now, we'll have 6-7 decent prospects all from K-Rod trades!

[JohnBriggs12]

Why not? Melvin said he was looking for someone with some closing experience. He and Roenicke have a great relationship. Old? Guys like Hawkins and Dotel keep finding jobs every year. K-Rod is a kid compared to them. I like that he was able to put the disaster that was most of 2012 behind him and be effective last year.

[TURBO]

I like that he was able to put the disaster that was most of 2012 behind him and be effective last year.

 

I'm not sure I would categorize his numbers in Baltimore as effective:

 

"Rodriguez, who turns 32 next week, went 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 23 appearances with the Orioles after they acquired him from the Brewers on July 23 for minor league infielder Nicky Delmonico. He allowed 25 hits, walked five, struck out 28 and surrendered five home runs in 22 innings."

[JohnBriggs12]

I like that he was able to put the disaster that was most of 2012 behind him and be effective last year.

 

I'm not sure I would categorize his numbers in Baltimore as effective:

 

"Rodriguez, who turns 32 next week, went 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 23 appearances with the Orioles after they acquired him from the Brewers on July 23 for minor league infielder Nicky Delmonico. He allowed 25 hits, walked five, struck out 28 and surrendered five home runs in 22 innings."

 

I'll take his season numbers: 2.70 ERA, 1.20 Whip, 54 K's in 46 2/3 innings. No, he's not a dominant reliever and he won't get paid like one either, but he's still useful.

[And That]

His performance in Baltimore makes it more likely that the Brewers would have some interest, wouldn't it? As JB12 noted, he had a good season, and if he wanted to come back to Milwaukee on a very cheap deal (as in 1 year, not much more than $1 mil), I'd take him. Why not? Decent pitchers that seem to like to pitch for the Brewers is something we should embrace.

[MNBrew]

As a pitcher, it'd seem to be a relatively low-risk move. I'd still prefer getting Balfour, but it's the difference between signing a decent veteran arm vs. signing a closer.

 

Then again, signing K-Rod or Balfour doesn't necessarily preclude also signing the other. In fact, I'd almost be willing to go to camp with the young 1B options we have (not a JF21 fan, but there are 3 other AAA-ish 1Bs, too) for a majorly upgraded bullpen. Why? I liken it more to 2011 (than 2013), when we had Axford + Hawkins + Saito, and then later added K-Rod to the mix. That made us nearly invincible after the 6th inning for nearly the entire 2nd half (post-K-Rod acquisition and Saito's return to health).

[TURBO]

I like that he was able to put the disaster that was most of 2012 behind him and be effective last year.

 

I'm not sure I would categorize his numbers in Baltimore as effective:

 

"Rodriguez, who turns 32 next week, went 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 23 appearances with the Orioles after they acquired him from the Brewers on July 23 for minor league infielder Nicky Delmonico. He allowed 25 hits, walked five, struck out 28 and surrendered five home runs in 22 innings."

 

I'll take his season numbers: 2.70 ERA, 1.20 Whip, 54 K's in 46 2/3 innings. No, he's not a dominant reliever and he won't get paid like one either, but he's still useful.

 

 

But those season numbers include his 2nd half with Baltimore.

 

His season numbers look fine, but his 2nd half is nightmare like...

[monty57]

But those season numbers include his 2nd half with Baltimore.

 

His season numbers look fine, but his 2nd half is nightmare like...

 

The limited number of innings is why it's hard to judge how a reliever (or even a bullpen) will perform from one season to the next. With so few innings, one or two bad outings makes things look terrible. 22 innings is a very small sample, so I wouldn't put too much weight in it.

[brewcrewdue80]

But those season numbers include his 2nd half with Baltimore.

 

His season numbers look fine, but his 2nd half is nightmare like...

 

Here's the thing, Baltimore didn't use KRod the way he expected which was 8th inning/closer. Oh, he had a 4.5ERA with Baltimore?

Look at his Game Logs. Worried about the 5HRs he gave up? What's he supposed to do? Nip at the corners and try striking guys out when his appearances on HRs given up were:

1: Down 6?

2:Down 11?

3+4: Ahead 3...Solo HRs and he actually K'd the side so those 2 matter

5: Down 2 So that one mattered too.

 

Then add to it his final 2 appearances when Baltimore was out of the Playoff picture: 2ip 6H 3ER. That's pretty much 5ERs that were meaningless when looking at his numbers. 2ERs were also given up when he was removed with 2runners on base. 2more ERs were in a game Baltimore was ahead by 5.

 

Here's what matters in his numbers with Baltimore: 21IP 5BBs 28Ks. That is impressive. If he's striking batters out and not walking them? He's going to be a successful BP guy. Sometimes it's important to look behind the boxscore on a pitcher's season's numbers because when the game is 5runs out of hand, a RP shouldn't be sitting there grinding to pitch away from contact. He's putting the ball in a place where it can be put in play. The worst thing he can do is walk hitters where the HR ball truly hurts. Take away the meaningless HRs/end of season performance and KRod pitched to 3.1ERA for Baltimore.

[TURBO]

You guys can paint his unsuccessful season in Baltimore any way you want, but he was garbage the 2nd half of last season, do we really want to bring that mess back to Milwaukee?

 

Why make excuses for his poor performance?

 

I'm not against bringing him back for a look, but to make excuses seems ridiculous. He was horrible in Baltimore, regardless of the situations he was put in to pitch...

[TooLiveBrew]

You guys can paint his unsuccessful season in Baltimore any way you want, but he was garbage the 2nd half of last season, do we really want to bring that mess back to Milwaukee?

 

Why make excuses for his poor performance?

 

I'm not against bringing him back for a look, but to make excuses seems ridiculous. He was horrible in Baltimore, regardless of the situations he was put in to pitch...

Why discount the > 50 % of his performance that was great?

[brewcrewdue80]

You guys can paint his unsuccessful season in Baltimore any way you want, but he was garbage the 2nd half of last season, do we really want to bring that mess back to Milwaukee?

 

Why make excuses for his poor performance?

 

I'm not against bringing him back for a look, but to make excuses seems ridiculous. He was horrible in Baltimore, regardless of the situations he was put in to pitch...

 

If a Pitcher is brought in on Garbage time situations should he be held accountable for his garbage performances?

 

You're ignoring the 5BB-28K in 21IP for Baltimore. Is that Garbage like? That is in fact better than the k/bb ratio he had posted for Milwaukee prior to the trade. If one thing can help a pitcher succeed is his K/BB ratio. It's clearly why Estrada has been successful beyond expectations. And while KRod gave up more hits(as he should in the AL) he improved on his K/BB ratio.

He gave up runs in 8/22 Appearances for Baltimore so ignore the 14 he didn't? And again three appearances of the runs given up were in blowouts. I'll just take a pass on the three and put it as 5/19 appearances giving up runs. At a 3ERA clip roughly. What should he be to not be Garbage in your opinion? Giving up Runs on a 1ERA clip? Yeah that's AllStar like. 2ERA clip? AllStar consideration. 3ERA clip? What you hope for out of a BP guy unless he's your closer and that is what he pitched to when not in garbage time. I'm just curious what your expectations are of him to not be "Garbage"

 

If you follow BRef's WAR it reads as follows: 1.2WAR 2013 -.2WAR 2012 1.8WAR 2011 1.8WAR 2010 .1WAR 2009 2+WAR the previous 5 seasons.

 

Pretty much you can expect 1+WAR out of him. Is it better than who he replaces on the roster? I don't know. But it would seem to be a safety net guy to have brought in for ST so long as the money is reasonable.

[monty57]

I wasn't making excuses for anything. I was just saying that 22 IP is pretty insignificant. Players have bad months all the time, and it really doesn't mean anything. Segura hit for a .584 OPS in August and .552 OPS in September. Should we find a way to get this "garbage" out of Milwaukee? I'm not saying we should or shouldn't go for K-Rod, but using 22 IP in Baltimore as reason that he's now garbage seems extreme.

 

I do think it would be amusing to see fans screaming about how unforgivable Braun's actions were, while cheering on a piece of crap wife-beater like K-Rod.

[Warning Track Power]

I do think it would be amusing to see fans screaming about how unforgivable Braun's actions were, while cheering on a piece of crap wife-beater like K-Rod.

Love this...Perspective. Yo's DUI was worse as well. Makes you realize how self-righteous we can be as fans at times.

[DHonks]

Monty and WT, I've been saying that as well. Apparently since Braun isn't a criminal, people feel they must be angry. But when a person is a criminal, they feel the person has paid their punishment. Don't forget that Yo's DUI was ridiculously off the charts.

[brewmann04]

I still think you see Melvin add 2 FA Relief pitchers. I agree the FO will go with the 1st Baseman they have on the roster.

[vegasbrewcrew1993]

Balfour may come on the cheap because of the failed physical with the O's. I would sign Balfour and K-Rod to 1 year deals. The Brewers would then have two good relievers with a vast amount of closer experience. If you're making a run for this year, then you might as well go all the way. The rotation is good now with Garza. They just have to shore up the bullpen. I'm more interested in having a dominant bullpen than fixing 1B. The Brewers lineup is more than good enough to hide the 1st base problem.

[DR28]

Balfour signed with the Rays today.

[craigharmann]

I'd love to see the return of Todd Coffey. Apparently there are 14 teams interested in him. Hoping the Brewers are one of them.

[HiAndTight]

You guys can paint his unsuccessful season in Baltimore any way you want, but he was garbage the 2nd half of last season, do we really want to bring that mess back to Milwaukee?

 

Why make excuses for his poor performance?

 

I'm not against bringing him back for a look, but to make excuses seems ridiculous. He was horrible in Baltimore, regardless of the situations he was put in to pitch...

 

Not if he's going to sign for 1 year and 13 million dollars....but since that's never going to happen, and he pitched well for the Brewers last year, I don't see how it'd hurt to bring him back on a 1 year 1.5 million dollar deal.

 

You seem to be trying equally hard to make the few poor second half appearances look worse than they were.

 

 

And with regard to what he did vs what Braun did, obviously the reactions are going to be different. One is a guy you built your franchise around, and another is a guy you've given up very little for(save for the year he accepted arbitration) and who you would give up very little for to bring back. Yo's DUI is likely glossed over in this state because drinking and driving is so socially acceptable. Had Braun did what K-Rod did, I have very little doubt he'd face a pretty ugly reaction with signs calling him a wife beater everywhere he went. Prominent player vs a player well past his prime bouncing around year to year.

[djoctagone]

k-rod close to a deal per this tweet from jon morosi.