Reliever Francisco Rodriguez and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt options declined
Milwaukee Brewers are still reeling from the National League Championship Series defeat and that despair has grown more since their rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, went on to beat the Texas Rangers to lift the World Series. As players now deal with the
repercussions from the last season, the management at the clubhouse has decided to decline options on shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and reliever Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod). The announcement was made from Milwaukee on Sunday, October 30.
Eight players from the Brewers’ squad are in the free agency and they include outfielder Mark Kotsay and relievers LaTroy Hawkins and Takashi Saito and first baseman Prince Fielder, infielders Craig Counsell and Jerry Hairston Jr.
At the moment, 150 players have been confirmed to be in the free agency and that leaves a lot of potential room for the Brewers to move around their finances. Nevertheless, the loss of Prince Fielder will be a compelling reality to deal with in the coming
days.
Rodriguez was a good pitcher for the Brewers in 2011. With a 6 – 2 standing from 73 games, his earning runs average was maintained around 2.64. Furthermore, he had 23 saves from 29 saving opportunities. The club has opted for a buyout option, valued around
$4 million.
On the other hand, Betancourt had a option open for $6 million. The Brewers have opted to buyout the option for $2 million. The player was hitting a good form this season as he averaged .252 with the bat. He however led the National League in errors of 21.
Nevertheless, the shortstop drove in 68 runs for the club, while scoring 51 on his own. The General Manager had a lot to say about the player.
"I thought Yuni Betancourt was a better player than what the critics had said," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said earlier this month. "I thought he did a very good job. If you look at the on-base percentage, that's the thing that always seems to hurt
him. [Defensively] I thought he made a lot of very good plays, a lot of outstanding plays. ... I'm very surprised about some of the critics on him, personally."
It may seem likely that the club would like to pull the free agents back to the team. However they would stray away from big offers.
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