Tigers exercise $13 million option on Rodriguez

The Detroit Tigers decided Ivan Rodriguez was worth another $13 million. The Tigers exercised an option Tuesday on the all-star catcher's contract, retaining him for a fifth season at a hefty price.

"This was a major decision and yet once the season ended, it became an easy one because we still think he's one of the top catchers overall in the game," Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The Tigers could have bought Rodriguez out of the last year of his deal for $3 million, but they didn't like the prospect of not having him behind the plate next year.

"People just throw around other options like you can get anybody to catch, but there are not a lot of future Hall of Famers available," Detroit manager Jim Leyland told the AP. "To me, this was a no-brainer, and I'm tickled to death to have him back.

"It eases our mind to know who our catcher is going to be next year. That's one less headache for us right now."

The Tigers hope to bring back free-agent starter Kenny Rogers and closer Todd Jones. They also want to add a shortstop and perhaps a left fielder, preferably a left-handed batter, via free agency or trade.

"Last week, we met to talk about each of our players. Next week, we'll talk about all the other clubs, free agents and trade possibilities," Dombrowski said.

Detroit had up to 10 days after the World Series to decide whether to retain Rodriguez, or let him go.