Pudge Rodriguez signs with the .....

[Drbio]

Marlins? And he got a no-trade clause? Wow.


Ivan Rodriguez Goes to Marlins

MIAMI (AP) — The Florida Marlins and 10-time All-Star catcher Ivan Rodriguez agreed Wednesday on a $10 million, one-year contract.

Rodriguez played 1,479 games with the Texas Rangers, hitting .303 with 215 homers and 829 RBIs and developing a reputation as one of the best catchers in baseball.

The Rangers refused to offer the 31-year-old Rodriguez salary arbitration last December in a payroll-slashing moving. Rodriguez received a $2 million severance payment from the team as the end of his previous contract.

His deal with Florida includes a no-trade clause and an agreement that the Marlins will not offer him salary arbitration after the season.

Rodriguez, who had been negotiating with Baltimore, missed nearly two months early last season because of a herniated disk in his back, but hit .314 with 19 homers and 60 RBIs in 108 games.

He replaces sluggers Cliff Floyd and Preston Wilson in the middle of the lineup and working with a young and talented starting rotation that includes A.J. Burnett, Brad Penny and Josh Beckett.

The Marlins traded catcher Charles Johnson to Colorado in November as part of a six-player deal that brought left-hander Mike Hampton and outfielder Juan Pierre to Florida. Hampton was then traded to Atlanta.

Rodriguez made his major league debut as a 19-year-old kid midway through the 1991 season.

He won 10 straight Gold Gloves, started nine consecutive All-Star games from 1993 to 2001 and was voted AL MVP in 1999.

Since his MVP season, when he was the first catcher since Thurman Munson in 1976 to win that award, Rodriguez has been hampered by injuries. He also missed the end of the 2000 and 2001 seasons, and has missed 176 games in three seasons after missing just 153 the previous nine years.

Rodriguez was hitting .347 with 27 homers and 83 RBIs through 91 games in 2000 when a broken thumb ended his season. In 2001, he played 111 games (.308, 25 homers, 65 RBIs) before having knee surgery for tendinitis.

Florida plays at Texas from June 13 to 15.

[Murphy3]

well, he got his money..it's a shame that his ego got in the way. he could have been a huge piece to a team that could compete for a title