The Toronto Blue Jays have signed Francisco Cordero to a 1-year, $4.5 million deal, according to Ken Rosenthal (twitter). Rosenthal says he will back up Sergio Santos in a set-up role.
Cordero, 36, is a 14-year veteran righty with a surprisingly good career ERA of 3.17. And it's not like he's seeing limited action or that career number is built on early success, either. He's pitched at least 60 innings of closing for each of the last five seasons, wavering between a 2.16 ERA in 2009 and a 3.84 ERA in 2010 -- and in 2011 he was good for 2.45 over 69 innings.
If Santos takes a step back or worse, gets injured, the Blue Jays will have someone on staff that knows the role -- Francisco has saved at least 34 games ever year since 2007.
- Twitter / @Ken_Rosenthal - "Source: Cordero to #BlueJays, pending physical. One year, $4.5M. Will set up for Santos."