The Milwaukee Brewers have re-signed their closer from last season and rounded off their bullpen. The Toronto Blue Jays are another team that needs bullpen help, but now they have to address some depth issues in their outfield.
Milwaukee re-signed Francisco Rodriguez to a two-year, $13 million deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. The Brewers were one of the frontrunners for Rodriguez, but faced competition with the Miami Marlins as well as a third team, who was believed to be the Washington Nationals. In the end, it appears Rodriguez chose the team he had the best chance to close for in 2015.
The Brewers have yet to announce the deal.
The 33-year-old had his best campaign since 2009 last season with Milwaukee. He finished 5-5 with a 3.04 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 73 strikeouts and 44 saves in 69 games (68 innings) and led the MLB in games finished (66). With Steve Cishek closing in Miami and Drew Storen doing the same in Washington, it was obvious where Rodriguez needed to sign if he wanted to be a closer. Milwaukee also added relievers Neal Cotts and Chris Perez this offseason in hopes of improving their bullpen.
In Toronto, the Blue Jays were seemingly left with one task at this point in the offseason - adding some relievers to strengthen their bullpen. However, they now have another issue to deal with because outfielder Michael Saunders tore his meniscus and will be out until the All-Star break, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. As a result, general manager Alex Anthopoulos said the team will look for external outfield candidates if nobody in camp can prove they're capable of filling in for Saunders.
The Blue Jays acquired Saunders earlier in the offseason in a trade with the Mariners that sent starter J.A. Happ to Seattle. The move was to help fill the void left by Melky Cabrera, who signed a three-year deal with the Chicago White Sox. Saunders was projected to be the starting left fielder alongside Dalton Pompey in center and Jose Bautista in right.
Now somebody in spring training has the opportunity to step up and earn a starting spot for at least half the 2015 season. Some candidates include Kevin Pillar, Ezequiel Carrera, Chris Dickerson, Caleb Gindl and Andy Dirks.
