Francisco Rodriguez

Francisco Rodriguez may file a grievance or lawsuit, citing malpractice or fraud, against his former agents this week regarding a no-trade clause in his last contract.

K-Rod, pitching out the final year of a three-year, $37 million contract with the Mets in 2011, believed he had a no-trade clause that outlined 10 teams he couldn’t be dealt to, including the Brewers. Instead, Rodriguez discovered in July that his former agents, Paul Kinzer and Arn Tellem, never filed the no-trade paperwork and he was shipped to Milwaukee, where he was pushed to a setup role and likely saw his free agent value drop. Rodriguez fired Kinzer and Tellem and hired Scott Boras. “He’s going to lose a lot of money, the question is whether it’s seven figures or eight figures,” said attorney Richard Johnson, who said the Wasserman Group, for which Kinzer and Tellem work, backed out of at least a $1 million damage payment before the eventual mediation hearing. “There’s long-term damage to his career. He wasn’t even in position to be marketed as a closer last winter. They really [messed] with his career in a monumental way.” Rodriguez earned $11.5 million in 20

Francisco Rodriguez is expected to arrive to the Brewers’ spring training camp a few days late.

It’s not clear what the reasoning is, but evidently K-Rod is still in his native Venezuela. The Brewers aren’t concerned, though. “We are not in the least bit concerned (about Rodriguez coming later),” said assistant general manager Gord Ash. “Late-inning relievers, especially veterans, don’t need as much time to get ready to pitch. He also pitched a little in winter ball.”

The Brewers and RHP Francisco Rodriguez avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $8 million contract.

The Brewers were hoping that K-Rod would reject their arbitration offer this winter and sign elsewhere as a free agent, thus netting the team a draft pick. But a market for him never materialized and so he decided to take the most lucrative route. He earned $11.5 million in 2011 while posting a 2.64 ERA and 79/26 K/BB ratio in 71 2/3 innings between New York and Milwaukee.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that a “handful of teams” have expressed trade interest in Francisco Rodriguez.

Rosenthal didn’t name any of the teams, but there are a few clubs out there looking for a closer that are sure to at least send feelers out on a possible deal for K-Rod. Rodriguez accepted arbitration from the Brewers, which means he’s set to earn around $13-14 million in 2012. Although Milwaukee insists they’re OK with paying that much to a setup man, they’re going to see what the market is for K-Rod.

Francisco Rodriguez has accepted arbitration from the Brewers.

K-Rod doesn’t want to set up for John Axford, but evidently he’ll make an exception if it means making around $13 million through arbitration. Of course, the Brewers could also wind up trading him to another team in need of a closer. K-Rod held a 2.64 ERA and 79/26 K/BB rate over 73 games this season for the Mets and Brewers in 2011.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that Francisco Rodriguez will likely accept arbitration from the Brewers.

Marcos Gruneld of BeisbolVenezolano.net also reported previously that K-Rod has decided to accept. The Brewers have said publicly that they would be happy if Rodriguez accepted, but they can’t be totally stoked about having a potentially $13 million setup man, which is around what K-Rod will earn through arbitration. They could wind up trading him to a team in need of a closer if they decide they can’t afford to pay someone so much to pitch the eighth inning.