Francisco Rodriguez

Rodriguez's 2017 option was picked up by Detroit, so he appears poised to once again serve as a reasonably priced source of saves. The 35-year-old righty has notched 126 saves across stops with the Brewers and Tigers over the past two seasons, and while his velocity readings and fielding independent numbers always seem to suggest he is pitching over his head, he may be the best example of someone who has the "closer mentality" -- if such a thing exists. Along with the saves, he can still get a decent amount of strikeouts while batters chase the changeup and breaking ball out of the zone, and he still posts solid ratios. While his ERA often fluctuates from year to year, he has kept it at 3.24 or lower in each of the past four seasons, although most projection systems will have him eclipsing that mark this season. He is the type of closer that is easier to roster than watch, as things often get interesting, even as he posted a career-best 54.7 percent groundball rate last season.

Rodriguez's surface numbers were as good as they've been this decade, as Rodriguez finished with 38 saves and a 2.21 ERA in his second season as the Brewers' closer. He continues to succeed in the closer role despite an unorthodox repertoire. His average fastball velocity dropped below 90 mph and he now throws a majority of off-speed pitches. His primary weapon is a brilliant changeup, which drew whiffs more than once out of every four times he threw it. He heads to the American League this year via a trade to Detroit. Hitters will punish him for his lack of velocity, as Rodriguez has served up 20 home runs in the past two seasons. Closers who toss up 90 mph fastballs are always living on the razor's edge, and for Rodriguez's owners, it will often be thirty pitches of terror, even if it has worked in Milwaukee for the last two years.

After trading him to the Orioles during the 2013 season, the Brewers re-signed Rodriguez last offseason. While it appeared that he was brought in simply to fill a spot in the bullpen, he ended up playing a far bigger role than expected, being named the closer just before the start of the season and hanging onto the job the entire way. He struggled with the long ball last year, but he also did an excellent job keeping runners off base, and ended up finishing with the fifth-most saves in the league. After signing a two-year deal in late February, he'll presumably return as Milwaukee's closer.

The Brewers gave K-Rod a minor league deal last offseason, used him at times as a closer in the first half and moved him to the Orioles for a decent prospect mid-season. Unfortunately for the Orioles, Rodriguez was not nearly as good in Baltimore as he was in Milwaukee, and he did not turn into the late-inning stopper like the Orioles hoped. Rodriguez decided to return to the place of his most recent success, and re-signed with the Brewers this offsesaon. He still has life on his fastball at an average 91.4 mph, but he threw the pitch just 54 percent of the time and relied more on his changeup and curveball. Rodriguez, who is now 32 years old, figures to open 2014 as the setup man in front of Brewers closer Jim Henderson.

Rodriguez was expected to be one of the better setup men in the league last season, but he was ineffective for long stretches at a time and finished the season with a 4.38 ERA and 1.33 WHIP, both the highest of his career. Rodriguez appeared in a career-high 78 games last season, so it is possible he was a bit overworked. He will only be 31 years old in 2013, so it is possible he could rebound if he is used in a lesser role out of the bullpen.

Rodriguez pitched well in a setup role in Milwaukee after a midseason trade, striking out 10.24 K/9IP and allowing just one home run. Given that it was believed he was interested in a multi-year deal with another opportunity to close, the Brewers may have been surprised that Rodriguez accepted arbitration in December. Provided that he isn't traded, Rodriguez will continue in his role as the eighth-inning man and fallback option for closer John Axford.

Rodriguez's biggest news last season came off the field, as he got into an altercation with his girlfriend's father in the family lounge at Citi Field on Aug. 11. To add injury to stupidity, K-Rod suffered a torn ligament in his thumb in the fight, sidelining him for the balance of the year. After the season, Rodriguez agreed not to challenge the team's decision to withhold his salary for the remainder of the 2010 season. In return, the Mets agreed not to seek to convert Rodriguez's contract to a non-guaranteed contract and removed him from the Disqualified List. In December, Rodriguez plead guilty to charges of assault, avoiding jail time. Prior to the altercation, K-Rod was having an excellent season, going 25-for-30 in save opportunities with a solid ERA and WHIP. He is expected to be healthy for spring training and should open 2011 as the Mets' closer.

Rodriguez was signed by the Mets following his record-breaking 2008 campaign and billed as the panacea for their struggling bullpen. K-Rod was brilliant the first three months of the season, but started to slow down in July and had several spectacular blown saves. At times there was a stark drop-off in Rodriguez's fastball, which had the cascading effect of making his changeup ineffective. He also struggled with his command, which might have been due to the lack of consistent work. K-Rod saw his ERA rise sharply despite a drop in BABIP, which doesn't bode well for the last two years of his three-year, $37 million deal.

Rodriguez had one of the best seasons ever for a relief pitcher and set a record for saves in a season after closing the door 62 times for the Angels in 2007. There's some concern over his diminished velocity, drop in strikeouts and increase in baserunners. Despite the apprehension, the Mets signed him to a three-year deal with an easily achieved team option for a fourth season. The other concern is that the Mets also acquired J.J. Putz from the Mariners, giving them a proven commodity as an alternative if Rodriguez gets off to a slow start.

Compared to his previous four seasons, Rodriguez had a down year, but when you put up his results against every other relief pitcher, Rodriguez was still one of the best. Rodriguez went 5-2 with a 2.81 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 67.1 innings pitched last season and was tied for second in the American League with 40 saves. Though his numbers were indeed lower by his standards, he is still putting hitters away with a high-90s fastball and one of the best sliders in the game. It's easy to forget that Rodriguez is just 26 years old and will be among the league's best closers in 2008 and for years to come.

Concerns about his violent motion and his slidercentric ways aren't going away. Ignore that and focus on how he has supplanted Mariano Rivera as the best fantasy closer in the AL. He allowed just two runs after June 26, and could be in line for a ridiculous 1.00 ERA season.

Look for more of the same from K-Rod in 2006 -- domination of opposing hitters, lots of strikeouts and lots of saves. When you get to the end of a game there are few better.

Make no mistake, K-Rod will dominate in 2005. While pitching brilliantly in a set-up capacity in 2004, Rodriguez took over closing briefly when Troy Percival was injured and proved he has the mental toughness to close games. He should be a top closer in 2005. Think Joe Nathan in 2004, only younger and harder throwing.

Rodriguez had a very good season for the Angels in 2003, posting a 3.03 ERA in 86 IP. Moreover, Rodriguez allowed a very stingy 50 hits. His K/BB ratio of 95/35 was one of the best on the team and he also chipped in with two saves and a WHIP of 0.988. If Troy Percival falters as the closer, Rodriguez could be next in line.

The words "young phenom" can't be uttered enough when you talk about Rodriguez. In a three-month span, he went from the minors to the national stage. The closer job belongs to Troy Percival, but Mike Scioscia can feel comfortable about putting the ball in the hands of this 21-year-old. Assuming Percival stays healthy, Rodriguez should get about 5-7 saves and have a great strikeout ratio, ERA and WHIP. He is great insurance in case Percival goes down.