Francisco Rodriguez walked through the lobby at the Bellagio hotel after meeting with the New York Mets on Monday and didn’t give the impression that he’d been bowled over by an offer.
Asked by reporters if he was meeting with anyone else, he responded as he kept walking, “I’m open to anything.”
It was the sound of a market softening.
The Mets’ offer, according to sources, was for two years and $25 million, with an option for a third year. With every step through the opulent lobby, it seemed as if K-Rod was coming to grips with the fact that he is unlikely to get the five-year, $75 million contract he envisioned after setting the single-season saves record of 62 with the Angels last season.
There are several less expensive closers without jobs and there is a prevailing opinion among team executives that grooming a ninth-inning reliever from within is an appealing alternative to doling out a multi-year contract worth more than $10 million a year.
The Mets desperately need a closer with Billy Wagner out for the 2009 season with an injury and the painful memory of blowing game after game in the late innings last season. But rather than overpay in a soft market, it appears GM Omar Minaya is using the glut of free-agent closers to his advantage and keeping his options open.
Thread title edited.
