Rhodes ready to win in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS After he was released by the Texas Rangers this week, left-hander Arthur Rhodes had offers to join the Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies and Cardinals. Wanting to have a shot at reaching the playoffs, the lefty naturally decided to sign with the Cardinals. Wait, what? Seizing an opportunity to play for Tony La Russa, get back in the more familiar National League and have a shot at reaching the postseason, Rhodes signed with the Cardinals Thursday and was officially added to their roster prior to Friday night's game against the Colorado Rockies. "This is a good fit," Rhodes said. "A great team over here, a good group of guys and I'm just ready to go. "I think this team can make it. I know this team can make it. That's why I choose to come to St. Louis. We'll see what we can do." The 41-year-old Rhodes held left-handed batters to a .216 average (8-for-37) with the Rangers but he was released when they acquired Mike Adams from the Padres at the trade deadline. His overall numbers don't look all that impressive (4.81 ERA in 32 games) but as the lefty pointed out, most of the damage was done in a couple of bad games. He allowed multiple runs in just four of his 32 appearances and had scoreless outings in 11 of his last 13 trips to the mound. "I had like one, two, three bad outings and they said they look at the numbers," Rhodes said of Texas. "I guess that team over there looks at numbers and I guess I had the higher numbers. But switching teams, I'm happy. I'm going to enjoy myself and help this team win. "I think it's better to come back over here because when I went back to the American League last year, I had to get to know the hitters again. Now I'm over here, I know most of the hitters already. I'm just ready to go." The Red Sox, Yankees and Cardinals offered Rhodes an immediate spot in their big league bullpen while the Phillies wanted him to make three minor league appearances before calling him up. Rhodes said his agent tried to call Philadelphia again Thursday but, "they didn't want to pick up the phone so I said forget it St. Louis." The Cardinals have had previous interest in the veteran but were never able to work out a deal during free agency. Rhodes said the two sides discussed a deal prior to the 2009 season before he eventually signed a two-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds. This is the 20th big league season for Rhodes, who has pitched for the Orioles, Mariners, Athletics, Indians, Phillies, Marlins, Reds and Rangers since breaking into the big leagues in 1991. In two years with the Reds in 2009-2010, the lefty had a 2.41 ERA in 135 games and was selected to his first All-Star Game. "I know there were a lot of teams out there that wanted me," Rhodes said. "But I wanted to come over here and play because I know this city is a baseball city and they love baseball so that's why I choose St. Louis. "I get excited, man. I feel like a little kid again. I'm ready to go out there and pitch." Rhodes threw a lengthy bullpen session prior to Friday's game, both to shake off the rust and to allow pitching coach Dave Duncan a chance to observe him up close. The session made him unavailable to pitch Friday night but he said he would be ready to go on Saturday. Per manager Tony La Russa, Rhodes will be used as the left-handed specialist, allowing second lefty Marc Rzepczynski to work in more of an innings role. The Cardinals optioned third catcher Tony Cruz to Memphis to make room for Rhodes on the roster. The Cardinals entered Friday's game trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by four games in the National League Central.