Starting pitching is always difficult to find before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, but this year there seems to be an abundance of relievers available. And by the time that the deadline hits, no team may have dealt more of their bullpen than the Milwaukee Brewers. CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman recently remarked that the club is ‘getting a lot of calls’ on their relief pitchers these days and even general manager Doug Melvin concedes he’s getting contacted about his bullpen.
Near the bottom of the National League Central, the Brewers will certainly make most players on their roster available. But the three names that are coming up the most when it comes to the bullpen are Francisco Rodriguez, John Axford, Mike Gonzalez.
Rodriguez, the current closer, is likely the most desired of the three. The former All-Star has the best track record of the group and is the only one to save a game for the club this season. His ability as a closer will make him heavily desired, but his ERA of 1.25 is really the key. Even if a club doesn’t need him as a closer, he has the makings of a dominant setup man. And the fact that he’s due less than $1 million for the rest of the season make him an attractive candidate.
Axford is another player teams could look to as a closer. He hasn’t filled the role this season, but has been the Brewers’ closer for the past three seasons, with more than 100 saves during that time. He had 35 last year and led the league with 46 back in 2011.
Gonzalez has closed in the past, too, but his primary role would likely be as a basic reliever. He hasn’t finished games for teams regularly since his days with the Braves several years ago, but his 3.19 ERA and more than one strikeout per inning still make him an effective pitcher for a bullpen.
Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi says the Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, and Arizona Diamondbacks are all teams that have scouted the trio in recent days and over the past several weeks. Earlier, Morosi said that the Diamondbacks’ interest seems focused on Axford, Rodriguez, and another reliever, Jim Henderson.
Another team interested could be the Los Angeles Dodgers. Danny Knobler of CBS’ Sports notes that the Dodgers also scouted out Milwaukee’s relief pitchers recently and that all three players are available as well.
Add the Detroit Tigers to the list of clubs looking for help while you’re at it. And Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says K-Rod makes a lot of sense for them. Rosenthal also mentions the Phillies’ Jonathan Papelbon in his article mentioning the Tigers, but says that Rodriguez could be the better fit. And as we noted before, we’re still not even sure that Philadelphia will be sellers.
In a nutshell, one of the things the Brewers had right was the composition of their bullpen. The team has struggled mightily, but has several relievers desired by other teams.
Nothing seems close just yet, but with so much interest, it’d be surprising if Milwaukee didn’t make a few deals this year.
