Reds Sign LHP Rhodes
By
Amanda
Posted at 11:22 am
Moving backwards through my inbox, I also find this announcement from the Reds about signing left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes. You don’t think he’ll block Mercker, do you??
Cincinnati Reds President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Walt Jocketty announced Friday the signing of free agent LHP Arthur Rhodes to a 2-year contract through the 2010 season.
Last season Rhodes combined to finish 4-1 with a sterling 2.04 ERA and 2 saves in 61 relief appearances for the Seattle Mariners and Florida Marlins. Opposing lefthanded batters hit just .167. He began the season in Seattle and went 2-1 with a 2.86 ERA and 1 save in 36 games before he was traded to Florida on July 31 in exchange for RHP Gabriel Hernandez. Rhodes finished the season 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 1 save in 25 appearances for the Marlins.
The 16-year Major League veteran has produced a 79-61 record, 4.23 ERA and 32 saves in 714 career appearances and 61 starts for the Baltimore Orioles, Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies and Marlins. Rhodes made 20 postseason appearances for the Orioles and Mariners, including 9 in the American League Division Series and 11 in the AL Championship Series.
This signing really pissed me off, because Rhodes deserved no more than a one year contract with his age and recent injury history. He’s pitched something like 29 innings in 2 years time. This just reeks of such similiar signings as Chris Hammond, Rheal Cormier, and Mike Stanton — all left handed veterans given 2 year deals who subsequently busted. Maybe we inherited Cormier’s contract since he was acquired in midseason trade, but the Stanton and Hammond signings were just like this one.
What bothers me is how a guy like Joe Beimel is waiting to get offered something, and hasn’t garnered much interest or publicity while the Reds seemed enamored with RHodes right out of the chute. Its the type of settling for the third or 4th best choice to try and be cheap when in reality if they have to eat anohter second year contract like they did with all three of those other guys I mentioned, then it turns out to be a very expensive terrible signing. It would be much safer and saner to give a little more and get a guy like Beimel who is only 31 years old — clearly in his prime – for 2 or 3 years.
I had hoped that the 2-year contract for older pitchers had left town with Kriv-dawg.