Brewers and K-Rod agree to terms

MILWAUKEE The Brewers agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Francisco Rodriguez Tuesday, avoiding an arbitration hearing with the right-handed reliever. Rodriguez, 30, appeared 31 games for the Brewers after being acquired during the All-Star game last season. He went 4-0 with a 1.86 earned run average, setting up for closer John Axford. Overall, he went 6-2 with a 2.64 ERA and 23 saves in 73 appearances with the Mets and Milwaukee. After the trade to Milwaukee, Brewers' general manager Doug Melvin and Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, negotiated a restructuring that made it a mutual option and replaced it with a 3 million buyout and guaranteed 500,000 in incentive bonuses. The Brewers had offered Rodriguez arbitration under the assumption he would seek a multi-year deal on a team that would give him a chance to return to the closer's role. When the market failed to materialize, Rodriguez opted to accept the Brewers' offer, and the sides worked out a deal worth approximately 8 million with various performance bonuses that could increase the value of the contract. The 8 million represents a 3.5 million pay cut from last season, when he earned 11.5 million in the final year of a three-year deal, 37 he signed with the Mets jn December 2008. The contract originally included a clause guaranteeing a 17.5 million option for 2012 if he were to finish 55 games in 2011.