Tigers 'tried everything' before cutting K-Rod, not ready to all out sell yet

SAN DIEGO — On the same day the Detroit Tigers gave up on veteran reliever Francisco Rodriguez, general manager Al Avila affirmed that he hasn’t given up on the team’s chances to turn things around. 

“You can’t react on everybody’s opinion – ‘Oh, you ought to sell, sell, sell,’ ” Avila said in the visiting dugout at Petco Park this afternoon, a couple hours after releasing Rodriguez. “Quite frankly, you do what the market allows you to do.

“We’re going to see what the market has. We’re going to see what’s out there and at the same time if there’s nothing there that makes sense, we move forward. If there’s something that makes sense, then maybe we do something. So, I couldn’t tell you right now how that’s going to develop. We still have a little over a week to go before July. Then we have a whole month of July (before the trade deadline). A lot of things can happen between now and then.”

More:Detroit Tigers release struggling closer Francisco Rodriguez

Whatever happens, the plans don’t include K-Rod, who was cut a day after giving up a grand slam in a 9-6 loss to Seattle. Bruce Rondon, who was optioned to Triple-A Toledo after struggling mightily to begin the season, was called up in Rodriguez's place.

"It had to be done, in our opinion,” Avila said of moving on without the veteran reliever. “We're still trying to win games and obviously he wasn't getting the job done. It was difficult because he's a long-tenured guy and he's had a long, good career."

More:Tigers react to team releasing Francisco Rodriguez

Rodriguez struggled to match the production that once made him one of the best closers in baseball. He has a 7.82 ERA and a 1.658 WHIP this season and has allowed nine home runs over 25 1/3 innings.

He lost the closer's job to Justin Wilson earlier this season, and has since been trying to work his way back into high-leverage pitching situations. As his frustration grew, Rodriguez questioned the line of communication with manager Brad Ausmus and pitching coach Rich Dubee concerning his role in the bullpen.  

Rodriguez declined to talk to reporters after giving up the grand slam and wasn’t at Petco Park Friday. 

“We tried everything," Avila said. "I know there was a lot of criticism toward Brad (Ausmus) for putting him in there. Quite frankly, what we were trying to do is get him better. It's either you release him or, you can't just keep him on the bench not doing anything in the bullpen. You've got to try and work through it. We tried everything. It just didn't work out. He tried everything he could and we tried everything we could and it just didn't work out." 

Rodriguez is a proud man with 15 years of experience as a closer in the majors and 437 career saves.  He had 44 saves last season for the Tigers and a 3.24 ERA and a 1.131 WHIP over 58.1 innings. He was an All-Star the previous two seasons with the Brewers.

“He took it hard,” Avila said. “He was apologetic. He said he was sorry he couldn't get it done. He wants to win as much as anybody and he wants to do it as much as anybody. He just couldn't get it done. He felt really bad about it. But he was very professional. He's been good in the clubhouse with our young pitchers. I don't know what he's going to do now, but he was very apologetic."

Rodriguez was set to make $6 million this season, and it's expected the Tigers will owe him north of $3 million after parting ways. 

He's the fourth veteran pitcher to be released or sent down by the franchise this year, joining Mike Pelfrey, Mark Lowe and Anibal Sanchez.

Each of the players were signed to contracts worth at least $5.5 million per year: Sanchez ($16.8 million), Pelfrey ($8 million) and Lowe ($5.5 million).

Sanchez rejoined the Tigers this month after agreeing to go to Triple-A Toledo for a stint. Lowe and Pelfrey were released during spring training. 

The Tigers are 7-12 this month and entered tonight's three-game series against the Padres on a six-game losing streak. 

“We are still trying to win and we're still trying to make things better, somehow, some way,” Avila said. “Our hope is we'll get on the right track. But at the same time, a lot of teams wait until July 1 to decide. But right now, based on where we're at and how we've been playing, I've got to keep all options open. And I have to start thinking about listening to clubs. If there is any interest out there, I have to open myself up to being flexible and listen to what might come our way."

"The players know the situation. These guys have been around the block a little bit and they understand — you win and you move forward. You don't win, then obviously we have to be open to whatever changes come our way. We're all geared for that."

What makes Avila think a turnaround is possible?

“The inconsistency's been there all year, but you have seen spurts of very good play. You've seen our hitters do very well, our pitchers have done very well, our defense has done very well. It's a matter of sustaining that. And as a matter of fact, it's a matter of also having your starting pitching in unison with your bullpen and doing a good job on the same day. That's basically the consistency we've been looking for.

“If you're asking me, what makes me think we can do it, it's because, well, if we didn't hit at all, or if we didn't pitch at all throughout the whole year, you'd say we couldn't do it. But we've been showing spurts of it. At the beginning of the year, we had a little stretch there that was pretty good. So there's still hope that we can do it, but at the same time we've got to stay open and see what else might come our way.”

Contact George Sipple: gsipple@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple. Download our Tigers Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!