At some point the Mariners will presumably want to add a high-priced closer to their increasingly expensive roster and Jon Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that Seattle is interested in former Rays closer Fernando Rodney.
Morosi notes that Rodney knows new Mariners manager Llloyd McClendon from their time together with the Tigers, although back then Rodney was mostly just a mediocre setup man. In fact, Rodney had a 4.28 ERA in seven seasons with the Tigers compared to a 1.91 ERA in two seasons with the Rays.
At age 37 it’ll be interesting to see what type of contract Rodney can get. His ERA skyrocketed this year, going from an MLB record 0.60 to 3.38, but a) 3.38 is still pretty good and b) his secondary numbers included a career-high 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings.