Ivan Rodriguez was the final, and some say most important, piece of the puzzle for the 2003 World Series champion Marlins. So it's no surprise that a certain longing for the good old days remains in Florida. The Marlins interest in "Pudge II" has been on again, off again for about a year now. If the price is right, a Rodriguez return could be on again. But they're only prepared to offer about a million dollars guaranteed to the man who was a central figure in a championship.Oh how the mighty have fallen, or at least how the mighty have gotten old.
Part of the reason that he would have to accept such a low contract would be that he would probably be a platoon player with John Baker, who is being given a real chance to win the job with his impressive stats in limited action with the Marlins last year. But Rodriguez is a good insurance policy for when the league inevitably figures Baker out if he's willing to take that kind of contract, or if someone else doesn't hand out a bigger deal with a promise of more playing time. And who's handing those out these days?
Even contracts of merely $1 million are dicey for the Marlins, which makes me wonder if this really has a chance of happening. But with the Marlins being right there for almost all of last season, Rodriguez could be one of those signings that could be useful to a young team down the stretch.
