Per CBSSports Major League Baseball insider Jon Heyman, the Tigers on Wednesday acquired veteran closer Francisco Rodriguez from the Brewers. Just 34, Rodriguez has 386 career saves over 14 big-league seasons, including 38 and 44 the last two seasons.
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The Brewers previously traded Rodriguez in July 2013 to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor leaguer Nick Delmonico. Joakim Soria was effective in the role this past season before being traded to the Pirates, but Detroit has cycled through a number of closers – a lot of them ineffective – in recent years.
The Detroit Tigers have been searching for bullpen help. “We had strong recommendations from our scouts on Frankie, and he has the proven track record we targeted in our search for a bona fide closer”.
Rodriguez, 33, is coming off a 2015 season in which he pitched to a 2.21 ERA and 5.64 K/BB ratio for Milwaukee.
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Rodriguez is due $5.5 million in 2016, and the team holds a $6-million option on his contract for 2017. That team option includes a $4 million buyout, so something odd would have to happen for the Tigers to not pick that up. Betancourt was Detroit’s 11th best prospect, according MLB.com. Betancourt, 20, hit. 263 with Class A Lakeland this season, with three home runs and 48 RBIs. Milwaukee will also receive a player to be named at a later time.
