Mariners Sign Rhodes
January 29, 2007 by Geoff Young
Filed under Hot Stove
The Seattle Mariners have signed left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes to a minor-league deal. Rhodes has been around forever. His best season in the big leagues came with the Mariners in 2001, when he fashioned a spiffy 1.72 ERA over 68 innings.
Rhodes was brutal last season, posting a 5.32 ERA over 45 2/3 innings for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is 37 years old, so age could be catching up to him. Then again, he pitched extremely well for the Indians in 2005.
This is a nice pickup by Seattle, with almost no downside. It reminds me a little of the Padres nabbing Alan Embree last year.
The availability of a guy like Rhodes this late in the game also provides an excellent demonstration of why you don’t throw guaranteed long-term deals at the likes of Embree, Steve Kline, Scott Schoeneweis, Mike Stanton, and Jamie Walker. There isn’t much difference between the best and worst of those; why not take the cheapest?
