Fuentes Unlikely To Re-Sign With Rockies

My prediction is Fuentes ends up in Milwaukee, who has Gagne coming off the books at 10 million. He'd also be a good fit for the Mets, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Detroit and Texas. St. Louis, the Dodgers and Angels have good in house options and why spend 10-12 million when you have a decent option in house?

Chris Perez is a decent in-house option for the Cardinals.....but I still think they'll make a push for Fuentes and K-Rod. He's young and unproven back there. Plus LaRussa wants the front office to make a move and get him something good to work with.....a stabalizer in the backend of the bullpen would be nice. Then use Perez as a setup guy. I also think the Angels will make a move. Not too impressed with their options either.

I don't see the Dodgers in the race for Fuentes. Saito looks to have healed and Broxton has been very good and only seems to throw faster each season. They don't even need a setup man, as they have Kuo under contract and can use either Saito or Broxton to set up the other.

As for the Angels, I can see them signing Fuentes if they don't re-sign Frankie, but that is a 7 year difference in age and I think Fuentes would have to compete with Arredondo and Shields for the closer role, and would more likely end up a lefty setup man.

"The Cards need situational lefties not a left-handed closer."

Fuentes can do both, if you think about it.

Not only did he express a preference to close, but he's going to demand--and likely receive--much more money than a team is going to be willing to shell out for a situational lefty. The point of such a player is to get tough lefties out before the 9th inning; I doubt a team would entertain using their closer in, for example, the 7th as a situational lefty and then have to find somebody else they trust to close it out in the 9th on top of that.

I'm fairly sure Fuentes will sign up somewhere as the closer. Depending on performance and other options, he could slip to a set-up man. But a situational lefty? That would take a major fall from grace--and success.

I think the brewers might actually be able to better afford him given that their likely to lose at least one or both of C.C. and sheets and will happily let Gagne go. They did make a very good offer to Cordero but the reds went overboard, I don't that's gonna be a contract they want to talk about too much in a couple years anyway.

"Fuentes can do both at a very good level. However I do remember reading somewhere that he prefers to close and cards need spend money on several holes not just one."

I think I wasn't clear about this one. What I meant was that Fuentes, as a lefty, can save the use of a lefty specialist in the 8th if you need him to come on and get a lefty before the 9th for a 4-5 out save.

"are you kidding me? Fuentes is no Lidge. Lidge hasn't blown a save this year and Fuentes has blown 4 and he's lost 4. Isn't this the same Fuentes that lost his job last year as the closer to Corpas???"

One, I agree that Fuentes isn't Lidge. Two, this is not the same Fuentes who lost his job last year. He has been really, really good this year.

"The Rockies got descent production at closer last year with Corpas at a fraction of what Fuentes is going to want"

Remember that the Rockies were all set to go Fuentes setup, Corpas closer this year, but Corpas pitched his way out of a job. I am not convinced at all on that guy.