Brewers agree to re-sign Francisco Rodriguez to two-year deal

The Milwaukee Brewers bolstered their bullpen Thursday with the reunion of right-hander Francisco Rodriguez on a two-year pact, as Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported first. The deal includes an option for a third year, Heyman reported in a follow-up tweet. 

Rodriguez's contract with the Brewers is worth $13 million, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

The 33-year-old Rodriguez spent 2014 and most of the past four seasons with the Brewers and comes with 13 years of big league experience. The closer has saved 348 games over his lengthy career, which is second amongst active big leaguers and tenth all-time. 

Rodriguez pitched 68 innings last season, going 5-5 with a 3.04 ERA, saving 44 games. Due to his 4.50 FIP, Rodriguez may be expected to regress from his good numbers last season. Despite that, Rodriguez had a 73-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which was the highest K/BB total of his career (min. 10 innings pitched). Overall, he was worth -0.6 fWAR last season, which could be misleading because he did do his job. 

There was a surplus of bullpen arms on the free agent market this offseason, so for Scott Boras to find Rodriguez a two-year deal with an option this late into the offseason can be considered a success. The Brewers were planning on using Jonathan Broxton as their closer for 2015, but he'll likely slide back into the eighth inning role. They also were rumored to have interest in Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon. 

Other relievers of Rodriguez's caliber have earned larger guarantees this offseason. David Robertson earned a four-year, $46 million pact from the White Sox, Andrew Miller earned a four-year, $36 million deal from the Yankees, and Luke Gregerson earned a three-year, $18 million deal from Houston (more in the range of Rodriguez's deal). Rodriguez is older than the three, but still provides a great reunion for the Brewers. He will be a good asset to their bullpen. 

--Devan Fink

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