Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos hinted that he might yet get some more bullpen help Tuesday morning and by early evening word came that he had a new set-up man in veteran right-hander Francisco Cordero.
The one-year deal is, according to Ken Rosenthal of foxsports.com, worth US$4.5 million, which would mark Anthopoulos’s biggest cash outlay to a free agent thus far. Cordero, who will work ahead of new closer Sergio Santos, must first pass a physical.
“We still have dialogue but I don’t see us doing anything in the rotation with respect to trades,” Anthopoulos said coyly earlier in the day. “I think we’re still exploring some things in terms of the bullpen with respect to trades, and even from a position-play standpoint, we’re still exploring some things. Right now, I wouldn’t expect us to do anything else, maybe add a reliever is the only thing we have a chance of doing.”
Cordero joins fellow veteran free agent Darren Oliver in a restyle bullpen that also includes Santos, who was picked up in a December trade from the White Sox, and Jason Frasor, the long-time relief mainstay who was reacquired from Chicago in a New Year’s Day trade.
That foursome, along with Casey Janssen, provides manager John Farrell with some more reliable options, at least on paper, than the bullpen roulette he often played last year.
Cordero, 36, appeared in 68 games with the Cincinnati Reds last season, converting 37 saves in 43 chances with a 2.45 ERA, 1.019 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 69.2 innings.
