Pedro and Pudge Still Looking for Work

We never thought we would see the day that come mid-March, Pedro Martinez and Ivan Rodriguez would be looking for work. The future Hall of Fame players are both in the same boat though as no team has made an offer to their liking.

Martinez struggled with arm issues the last two years, but opened some eyes with his performance in the World Baseball Classic. The Dominican Republic was eliminated, but not before Martinez tossed six scoreless innings. He didn't walk a batter, allowed just one hit, and struck out six.

Reportedly, the former Red Sox hero wants a one year deal worth $5 million. Teams are reluctant to offer up that much guaranteed money for a guy who had surgery and missed so much time the prior two seasons.

But one only has to take a look at the deal John Smoltz recently signed with the Red Sox to know that someone may just pony up the money for Martinez after all. Smoltz is guaranteed $5.5 million this year and has a shot at another $5 million in incentives. That contract was given despite Smoltz' shoulder surgery last June.

The Mets have resisted bringing back Martinez, who just completed a four year contract. But Martinez has piqued the interest of the Dodgers, who lost Derek Lowe and Brad Penny to free agency.

Martinez, along with older brother Ramon, grew up in the Dodgers system before being dealt to the Expos for Delino DeShields. To say that it would be strange to see Pedro, Manny Ramirez, and Joe Torre in the same dugout, is beyond an understatement.

There are plenty of other teams looking for pitching, but not willing to pay the cash. There's also uncertainty if Martinez is a good influence on young pitchers.

Pedro may have to wait for a team to suffer an injury to get a deal he finds acceptable. (Can you imagine Pedro in Pinstripes if there was an injury or Joba was ineffective? George and Hank would love it.)

There's no question that teams feel Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez would be a good influence on inexperienced catchers and a pitching staff, but there's plenty of concern about the life left in his bat. I-Rod has tried to answer those concerns in the WBC.

Through the first three games, the Puerto Rican born catcher was hitting .545 (6-11) with 2 home runs, one double, and 5 RBI. He's also added a walk and a stolen base.

It's only three games, but it's a far cry from how Rodriguez ended the 2008 season. After losing his full-time job in Detroit, Rodriguez was shipped to the Yankees, who needed some offensive help with Jorge Posada having gone down to injury.

But Rodriguez was soon sitting on the bench in New York too. He hit just .219 in 96 at-bats. Worse was his lack of run production- just 3 RBI- which led to Rodriguez taking a seat in favor of a .237 lifetime hitter (Jose Molina).

Whether or not his small measure of work in the WBC can land him a job remains to be seen. But a $1 million salary plus incentives would probably be enough to sign him.

There have been rumors on and off of one of his old teams, the Marlins, having an interest, but so far that has not come to fruition. As of now, Wes Helms is the Marlins' only position player that earns seven figures in annual salary.

But this would be a win-win situation. The three catchers currently on the Marlins' 40-man roster only have 147 games of combined major league experience (one of them, Brett Hayes, has no MLB experience). Pudge would have to accept a part-time playing/teaching role, but he would also be living near his Miami home.

There has also been some mutual interest between Pudge and the Mets too. Ideally, the Mets would have Rodriguez split the catching duties with Ramon Castro, and move Brian Schneider, a .253 career hitter, and his $4.9 million salary.

We think the Orioles would be another good fit. The O's signed the left-handed hitting Greg Zaun this past winter. Rodriguez could platoon/split time with the Zaun, who hasn't hit above .242 the last two seasons and is a mediocre defensive catcher. Once uber-prospect Matt Wieters is ready to come to the majors, Rodriguez could move into a mentoring role.

For now though, Pedro and Pudge are still checking the help wanted ads (maybe they could work a package deal.).


photos courtesy of epochtimes.com and ivanrodriguez.com