Phew! Only $37 million for Francisco Rodriguez
LAS VEGAS — The reported deal between the New York Mets and free-agent closer Francisco Rodriguez delighted some within the Cardinals’ think tank.
Rodriguez, according to Jon Heyman at SI.com and multiple other reports, has agreed to a three-year deal worth $37 million — a different result than the $15-million average over four (or more) that was floated earlier this offseason.
That helps set the market for Brian Fuentes and Kerry Wood, two of the closers that have found themselves in the Cardinals’ crosshairs for the right kind of deal.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak on Monday downplayed any pursuit of Fuentes. The market, however, seems to keep pushing the two parties together.
The Cardinals have also been consistent in their belief that Trevor Hoffman is not a fit for them, even if he offers a short-term bridge to a 2010 with one of the young righthanders in the role.
The Cardinals have indicated they would prefer to go into the season with the relieving options they have for the ninth inning — Mozeliak likened Jason Motte and Chris Perez to being this year’s Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker, or vice versa — and ride with the growing pains unless they can spend to land a sure-thing closer. There definition of sure-thing closer could be limited in scope.
MLB.com’s Cleveland Indians site has that club close to a two-year deal with Wood.
(6 votes, average: 2.83 out of 5)
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
I would rather see Kerry Wood before Fuentes.
I say sign Wood to a 2yr deal & use motte & perez as 7th/8th inning worker bee’s. If no on Wood then I say go spend some serious $$ on a good started & put Wainright back in the closer role. Waino was lights out & handled the pressure like a vetran. Since Izzy is gone Waino could show the starters how a CLOSER closes out the game the right way!!
GO CARDS!!
No way on Waino at closer! He is our best starter. I won’t count Carpenter until he has successfully gone through 2 turns in the regular season. I’d rather let Motte and Perez go through the growing pains. I just don’t see any free agent starter that could match Waino for under 15 per. All the articles I’ve read say we have 10-15 left for this year and we still need another LOOGY. Who is this #1 starter (maybe #2 quality) that you see us getting for under 15 mil per?
Why, why, why are we even talking about a closer? Perez has spent his whole career closing out games. Hand him the ball … or Motte! I realize this might be a rumor with no legs, but still, it would be a waste of money to sign a closer. the Cardinals needs in other areas are much greater.
Perez hasn’t been around long enough to say “his entire career as a closer!” And if he was so perfect for the role, how come he struggled at times last-year? The closer’s role is clearly the biggest need this off-season, even before they filled the SS position. How soon you forget last-year’s late inning nightmares. With an average closer last-year, they win the wild-card, EASILY. They Blew 3-4 head to head games against the Brewers alone in the 9th, without mentioning the other 20 failures. Signing a closer WOULD NOT BE A WASTE OF MONEY.