Pudge expected to sign with Astros

03/16/09 5:14 PM ET
Pudge expected to sign with Astros
Free-agent catcher to take physical after he's finished with Classic

By Alyson Footer / MLB.com

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Roy Oswalt passed Pudge Rodriguez at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Fla., where both are participating in the World Baseball Classic.

"Hey, teammate," Rodriguez said to Oswalt.

"I guess I was one of the first to find out," Oswalt laughed.

The 37-year-old Rodriguez is expected to sign with the Astros, pending a physical exam that will be taken upon the completion of Puerto Rico's participation in the World Baseball Classic.

"Houston's team needs a catcher," Rodriguez told reporters at Dolphin Stadium. "I'm ready to play."

General manager Ed Wade would only confirm that he has re-engaged agent Scott Boras, approximately two months since the last time the two had talked about the free-agent catcher.

"He reached out to us a few days ago and he and I had a discussion," Wade said. "We're still in the discussion phase. The fact of the matter is that where we were with the economic situation two months ago, we couldn't get a deal done. But in the last few days, we see there is a possibility to get something done."

In essence, playing time is an important part of the negotiations. The Astros are likely not offering the most money, but they can offer a No. 1 catching job, which other teams have apparently been hesitant to do.

The contract will be for one year at $1.5 million with another $1.5 million possible in incentive bonuses.

Oswalt, the staff ace and one of the longest-tenured Astros, is thrilled that the All-Star catcher is moving behind the plate at Minute Maid Park.

"I think it's good," Oswalt said. "He has a lot of experience, he's been about the league and he knows the hitters. It'll be a big boost to the pitching staff."

Rodriguez's offensive numbers dropped last year after he was traded from Detroit to the Yankees, batting just .219 over that two-month stretch, but to Oswalt, a catcher's most important contributions are made while crouching behind the plate, not standing in against an opposing pitcher. For that reason, Oswalt enthusiastically welcomes Rodriguez to the team.

"That's the No. 1 job for a catcher -- defense," he said. "Offensive numbers are a plus, but the main thing is how well you work with pitchers. But it's going to help us, having another bat in the lineup, and it'll also some of the younger pitchers."

Humberto Quintero is currently considered the incumbent No. 1 catcher, but the Astros privately have not been sold on having him fill that role.

Rodriguez, a 14-time All-Star in 18 Major League seasons, is 9-for-15 with two homers in four Classic games, and was named Most Valuable Player of Pool D, part of the first round played in San Juan. Puerto Rico, which takes on Venezuela tonight in Miami, is 4-0 in the tournament.

Rodriguez finished last season with the Yankees after 4 1/2 seasons with the Tigers, one with the Marlins and 12 with the Rangers.

Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

WOW!

big surprise for me... What happened to Fla. Marlins, he indicated he wanted to play there. Bet they did not offer enough money, and they already had their catchers...

Monday, March 16, 2009
Ex-Tiger Pudge Rodriguez to sign with Astros
Tony Paul / The Detroit News

The audition was successful.

Pudge Rodriguez will sign with the Houston Astros on the heels of a red-hot showing in the World Baseball Classic, in which he is hitting .600 with two homers and six RBIs in four games. The agreement first was reported by ESPN's Steve Phillips, who said Rodriguez will earn a base salary of $1.5 million with another $1.5 million available via incentives.

It's quite a pay cut for Rodriguez, who last year made $13 million playing for the Tigers and, after a July trade, the Yankees.

A slow economy as well as Rodriguez's declining skills caved the market this winter for the 13-time Gold Glove winner, who batted .276 last season bust just .219 after a trade-deadline deal sent him from Detroit to New York for reliever Kyle Farnsworth. Rodriguez, 37, eventually was only the backup to Jose Molina with the Yankees; he played only 12 games the entire month of September.

Still, Rodiguez refused to accept that last season would be his last in his sure-to-be Hall of Fame career. So he set out to use the second installment of the WBC, a 16-team international showcase that runs through the end of the month, to showcase his skills.

"I will be ready," Rodriguez told reporters March 7, after Puerto Rico opened the WBC with a 7-0 win over Panama in which Rodriguez was 4-for-4 with two homers, four RBI, a walk and a stolen base. "It's tough because you have to understand the economy is quite difficult, and the team owners are suffering because of the same thing."

The Astros seemed a logical fit just a month ago, before team reps publicly refuted there was any interest. In fact, general manager Ed Wade went so far as to say, "We're not signing Pudge. Put that one to rest. We have no expectation to sign Pudge."

But the reality was the Astros needed a catcher, at least for 2009. They had four candidates vying for the job, but free-agent acquisition Toby Hall has been battling a shoulder injury, and the club wasn't convinced Humberto Quintero, Rule 5 pick Lou Palmisano or J.R. Towles was prepared to be a starter in the majors. Houston probably only needs a space filler until Jason Castro, the 10th overall pick in last year's draft, is ready to be promoted for good.

Other teams rumored to have interest recently were the Marlins and the Mets, but cash-strapped Florida was already plenty prepared to hand the job to 28-year-old John Baker, while New York general manager Omar Minaya had no interest in adding Rodriguez's contract unless the club could, in turn, dump injury-prone Ramon Castro and his $2.5 million salary from the books.

Rodriguez spent most of the past five seasons with the Tigers, with whom he surprisingly signed a long-term contract right after the club lost an American League-record 119 games in 2003. He batted .334 his first year in Detroit, but suffered a drastic dropoff and reportedly fell out of favor with manager Alan Trammell in 2005. Trammell was fired that offseason, and Rodriguez re-emerged to hit .300 and lead the Tigers to a surprising World Series bid in 2006.

At the time of last year's trade, he was batting .295 with five homers and 32 RBIs.

In Detroit, he made four All-Star teams and won three Gold Glove awards.

If Pudge can hit 295 and stay healthy

the deal is a steal for the Astros

03/17/09 7:39 PM ET
Leyland happy that Pudge found home
Manager says catcher has good situation with pending Astros deal

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

LAKELAND, Fla. -- If the Astros needed an endorsement of Ivan Rodriguez from an old organization, Tigers manager Jim Leyland is glad to give it. And he did.

The Astros are expected to sign Rodriguez once he returns from the World Baseball Classic, where he's representing his native Puerto Rico, and passes a physical. He's expected to get the starting job he sought all offseason without success.

Leyland, for one, is glad that he finally found it. Though the Tigers had essentially decided to go with Brandon Inge over Rodriguez at catcher when they traded him at last July's Deadline for reliever Kyle Farnsworth in a swap that didn't work out well for either side, there's still a lot of respect from Leyland.

So when Astros manager Cecil Cooper asked him about Rodriguez, Leyland said, he answered favorably.

"We had two run-ins in three years -- I think that's pretty good when you're dealing with a superstar," Leyland said. "I think there was a lot of respect for one another. He played hard. He played hurt. He came to beat the other team."

Leyland did not go into details about the run-ins, but Rodriguez's desire for playing time has been well-known. Even when he was the unquestioned starter in Detroit, he usually wanted fewer days off than the Tigers wanted to give him.

As for what Rodriguez can provide now, at age 37, Leyland thinks there's still something there.

"Obviously, not the exact same player he was several years ago," Leyland said, "but he kept himself in better shape than probably any player I've ever seen. He looks young. He takes care of himself. It's a good situation for him."

It's a situation that could earn him a rematch against Detroit, whom he already faced in a Yankees uniform last September at Comerica Park. The Tigers travel to Houston June 26-29 as part of Interleague Play.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Go Pudge

Does anybody else think Leyland is a dork????

Pudgerocks wrote:

Does anybody else think Leyland is a dork????

I do!


And he should have let Verlander pitch 9 last night

Justin could have had a CG win instead of a no decision

Of course he should have-why the heck not? Doesn't he deserve a win after doing all the work? He did the same thing to Porcello the other night. Doesn't he think that a 20 year old would love the glory of a complete game? If it ain't broken-stop trying to fix it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pudgerocks wrote:

Of course he should have-why the heck not? Doesn't he deserve a win after doing all the work? He did the same thing to Porcello the other night. Doesn't he think that a 20 year old would love the glory of a complete game? If it ain't broken-stop trying to fix it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am surprised the Tigers have 4 Complete Games as a team this year


Most under any Leyland managed Tigers team


3 CG in 2006

1 CG in 2007

1 CG in 2008

Maybe he finally realizes what our pitchers can do.

I doubt it-his favorite game to play is musical pitchers!