The Houston Astros elected to pull Wandy Rodriguez back off of waivers Wednesday just one day after the Colorado Rockies were awarded the waiver claim and one day before Thursday's 1:00 p.m. ET deadline to work out a potential trade.
Although the waiver claim made national headlines, Astros general manager Ed Wade simply executed a standard Major League Baseball procedure that occurs this time of year by placing certain players on waivers as a way of gauging their trade value.
Wade and the Astros were faced with three possible options: dump Rodriguez' entire contract on the Rockies for nothing in return, negotiate a trade with Colorado general manager Dan O'Dowd or simply pull the veteran left-hander back and retain him.
Rodriguez could have found himself a member of Colorado's rotation had the Astros simply handed over the remainder of his contract.
However, that wasn't going to happen.
From the time Colorado was awarded the waiver claim, the idea of obtaining Rodriguez became a long-shot, considering both the Rockies and Astros were hoping for the best with nothing to lose.
The Rockies reportedly wanted to take on the remainder of Rodriguez's $1.38 million for 2011, as well as the $36 million he's scheduled to make over the next three seasons, if the lefty exercises a player option for 2014 -- which kicks in -- if traded.
By placing a waiver claim on Rodriguez, Colorado showed a willingness to do this, especially since they need a veteran starting pitcher in the front of their rotation for next season to mix with Jhoulys Chacin, Esmil Rogers, Alex White and Drew Pomeranz.
Plus, the Rockies view Rodriguez's contract as reasonable, since it's difficult to lure quality free-agent starting pitchers to Coors Field.
Rodriguez fits the profile of what Colorado wants, but O'Dowd wasn't going to take him on at the expense of trading top-tier prospects.
That was the decisive factor in how the end result unfolded.
Colorado wanted to take on his entire contract, yet the Astros reportedly asked for catcher Wilin Rosario or Pomeranz, plus salary relief, in return, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
Rosario entered the 2011 campaign rated as the Rockies' No. 2 prospect by Baseball America, while Pomeranz, the fifth overall pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, was recently acquired by Colorado from Cleveland as part of the Ubaldo Jimenez trade.
Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reported Colorado was only willing to possibly offer Jason Hammel, Casey Weathers or Christian Friedrich.
The Astros were in control of the situation the entire time.
In a way, Wade appraised the value of Rodriguez on the trade market by seeing who else, besides the Rockies, placed a waiver claim.
It's unclear if the Astros will attempt to deal the standout lefty during the offseason, but if so, Wade has a better idea of the interest level.
Still, it's not a top priority for the Astros to trade Rodriguez, especially with Houston expected to be under their reported $60 million payroll for 2012 -- even with Rodriguez still on the active roster.
With pitching and defense the foundation for success, quality left-handed starters are always high in demand, yet limited in supply.
CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Johan Santana, Clayton Kershaw, Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, David Price, Francisco Liriano, Jaime Garcia, Gio Gonzalez, John Danks and Rodriguez arguably rate as the top southpaw starting pitchers in Major League Baseball.
Is Rodriguez's contract that horrible to keep?
Absolutely not -- considering he likely would have received a better offer on the free-agent market, if the Astros didn't lock him down.
Unless the Astros get blown away with a trade offer, they will hold onto Rodriguez, who wants to remain in Houston over the long-run.
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