More and more, it looks like Francisco Rodriguez is on his way out of Anaheim.
And, maybe, on his way to New York.
As my colleague Scott Miller wrote earlier today, the Angels have put Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia ahead of K-Rod on their list of free-agent priorities. So far ahead, it turns out, that K-Rod is barely even on the list anymore.
"As a whole, we're probably turning the page on this one," Angels owner Arte Moreno said today on his Los Angeles radio station, KLAA, when asked about Rodriguez. "I'm not one of these never, never people, but I'm just saying I think as a whole it's important for us to turn the page and move forward."
In the same interview, Moreno suggests that the Angels could pursue Manny Ramirez, if they don't keep Teixeira.
(The entire interview can be heard here.)
If the Angels do indeed turn the page, where would that leave Rodriguez?
Very possibly, with the Mets.
The Mets are determined to fix their bullpen, but they shied away from Rodriguez after his agent told SI.com last month that the bidding would start at five years and $75 million. Kinzer has since backed away from those comments, and when he did Mets officials started telling people that they're back in on K-Rod.
The Mets could be well-positioned to get him, too, because the other teams in need of a closer this winter (Tigers, Indians, Rays) are very unlikely to spend anything close to $15 million per year. The Mets could end up going that high, although not for the five years that Kinzer was originally demanding.
Moreno said the Angels made six different offers to Rodriguez over the last year or so. It's believed that they went up to about $42 million for three years, and that Rodriguez told them that wasn't enough.
