SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Francisco Cordero
criticized the Texas Rangers for trading him, saying he was
grateful to have ended up with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Cordero was 7-4 with a 4.81 ERA and six saves with the Rangers,
who dealt him to the Brewers on July 28 along with outfielders
Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix, and minor league left-hander
Julian Cordero -- no relation to Francisco. All-Star outfielder Carlos Lee
and outfielder Nelson Cruz went to the Rangers.
Cordero was 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA and 16 saves with the Brewers.
He was an All-Star in 2004, setting a Texas record with 49 saves,
but he set a major league record with five blown saves in April and
lost the closer's job to Akinori Otsuka.
"They did not think about what I did for so long," Cordero
told The Associated Press on Friday. "In Texas, they made stupid
changes that didn't make sense. Lee is a free agent and now he's
leaving. That's why the manager [Buck Showalter] isn't there
anymore."
Rangers spokesman Gregg Elkin declined comment.
Milwaukee exercised Cordero's $5.4 million option last month. He
said his agent was negotiating an extension with Milwaukee.
Cordero plans to play for the Escogido Lions in the Dominican
Winter League.