Several sources are reporting that the New York Mets have signed free agent closer Francisco Rodriguez to a three year deal worth $37 million with a vesting option for a 4th year at $14 million. The former Angels closer had originally been seeking a 5 year deal worth $75 million and his signing may be the strongest signal yet of the impact the economy is having on the free agent market.
K-Rod had 62 saves for the Angels last year, setting a new single season record and has had 149 saves over the last three years. He should provide the Mets an anchor for the back of their bullpen which struggled last year, and lost closer Billy Wagner to injury.
The Angels, who offered K-Rod a deal worth only about $3 million less in Spring Training, will receive the Mets' first round draft pick (#25 overall) and a supplemental pick in between the first and second rounds.
The signing is the first of the high profile free agents this year, and will likely set a precedence for fellow free agent closers Brian Fuentes and Kerry Wood. Teams that had not planned on being a player for some of these larger names may find themselves back in the midst of the action, since prices and demands have apparently fallen considerably.
Deals involving big name players like this have a tendency to have a bit of a dominoe effect as teams that missed out, scramble to snatch up their second or third options. Be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed or have posts delivered daily to your email inbox so you can keep up on all the latest MLB rumors and free agent signings.
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