Angels still hope to sign K-Rod

February 22, 2008 · Paul Raymond · Jump to comments

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While Francisco K-Rod Rodriguez feels this will be his last season in Anaheim, Angels owner Arte Moreno feels differently. The owner of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is holding out hope that K-Rod will stay with the team. “We haven’t even started playing spring games; things change,” Moreno said. “I’m not one to close the door because we start the season.”

This situation is getting more and more interesting by the day. The two sides could not come to an agreement before his arbitration case, mainly because of the new contracts Mariano Rivera and Francisco Cordero recently received. The Angels mainly aren’t to sure about offering $15 million or more to one of the league’s elite closers. Pretty insane right? Well not really. Breaking down K-Rod’s stats you can see why the team has some hesitancy. He does have 132 saves the past 3 seasons including 40 in the 2007 campain with a 2.81 era. But looking closely at his split stats, he had a 3.45 era in the second half (not bad but not what you want out of a closer), and blew 4 saves, including more walks and wild pitches.

Adding to the situation is today’s arbitration case. K-Rod was asking for $12.5 million which would of been a league record in hearings. He obviously lost. He was still given $10 million , the same Philadelphia Phillies 1B Ryan Howard received yesterday. Not a bad salary, but he may have been hurt by no elite closer ever reaching this stage. Most teams usually lock theirs up well before this stage.

This could definitely bear watching over the summer. Does an extension get done during training camp? Highly unlikely but would be the best scenario as this could cause some unrest in the locker room. If K-Rod feels he’s a lame duck, he may pitch his heart out for a contract but at the same time, might wind up being somewhat distant to his teammates. But then again with Vladimir Guerrero around I’m sure everyone will stay somewhat happy. Lets watch how this plays out thou.