MLB Trades: The Impact Francisco Rodriguez Will Have on the NL Central Race

With the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers tied for the NL Central lead at the All-Star Break, the Brewers made the first big move of the trading season in acquiring closer Francisco Rodriguez from the New York Mets for a seemingly small price.  All they gave up were two players to be named later.

Some might wonder why the Brewers would go out and get a closer, especially when they already have a pretty good one in John Axford.  The reason is that Rodriguez won't necessarily close games the entire year in Milwaukee.  If he finishes 21 more games over the remainder of the season, a $17.5 million dollar option would be triggered for 2012. This is an option the Brewers simply won't want to pick up.  This could cause for the Brewers to use both Rodriguez and Axford to close out games.

Without a doubt, Milwaukee's biggest weakness this year has been its bullpen.  Their offense has produced very well, their starting rotation has been pretty good, but their bullpen just simply hasn't been sufficient.  In the thick of the NL Central race, the Brewers are evidently buyers as we approach the trade deadline.  Bringing in Rodriguez will shore up their bullpen significantly.

The Brewers had high hopes when they signed Takashi Saito this past offseason, but he has been hurt most of the year and hasn't pitched much.  Zach Braddock has bounced between the Brewers and their minor league system this year, but he hasn't been effective in his time in the Majors.  Marco Estrada has been used the most out of the bullpen, but he has an ERA approaching 5.00.  And Kameron Loe hasn't lived up to his 2010 success this season.

If there has been a bright spot other than Axford in the bullpen, it is LaTroy Hawkins.  After a disastrous year last year, he has an amazingly low 1.08 ERA thus far in 2011.  However, he hasn't been used much, and has even expressed an interest to Ron Roenicke to pitch more.

As you can see, the Brewers have had problems in their bullpen all year.  Regardless of who closes, they now have two great relievers in Axford and Rodriguez.

Obviously, one man can't fix an entire bullpen, and there are still some questions at the front end of it. Whether this trade is enough to make the Brewers the favorite in the NL Central remains to be seen.

Chances are that it's not.  Acquiring Rodriguez was a good move, but one that's probably not big enough to impact a divisional race.  It looks like the Cardinals will be in it until the end, and they're almost sure to add a big-name player by the trade deadline as well.  And even though they've been great so far, the Pirates realistically don't pose a threat in the NL Central, and will probably be out of the race by late August.  Meanwhile, the Reds are still sitting there at four games back, and certainly have to be taken seriously.

Overall, the trade for Francisco Rodriguez was a great move by the Brewers, even if not one to make them the clear-cut favorite to win the Central.  If they want to truly separate themselves from the Cardinals and Reds, they'll have to go out and add another big name before the trade deadline.  Doug Melvin is an extremely aggressive GM and chances are, they will go out and get acquire another big-name player soon enough.