Ivan Rodriguez signed a two-year deal with the Washington Nationals to serve as their backup catcher.
The deal is subject to the 38-year-old catcher passing a physical, a person familiar with the negotiations said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not yet final. Rodriguez will receive $3 million each in 2010 and 2011.
I don’t understand this at all. Unless Washington has money to throw away, backup catcher is not the place to be spending $3 million dollars a year. I could see it if he had a reputation of coaxing good performances out of a pitching staff, but Ivan’s defense comes from his arm, not his pitch calling. When there are so many pitching needs on the team, the extra $2.5 million spent on Rodriguez would seem to be spent better elsewhere.
The Nationals may be trying to sell tickets by signing a future hall of famer, in hopes that more people in DC come to see Ivan Rodriguez.
But yeah.. I thought $1 million a year for DOug Mirabelli was a bit much. Perhaps Rodriguez can top this by having a police escort take him to his first game in DC.
I suspect this has something to do with how they’ll ease Strasburg into the majors.
Kevin Goldstein agrees with Devon.