"A few handshakes, a few hugs. A meeting with manager Ron Roenicke. A new uniform.

That's how the Milwaukee Brewers welcomed Francisco Rodriguez on Thursday at Coors Field as "K-Rod" entered his new clubhouse for the first time since being traded by the New York Mets on Tuesday night.

"It was a surprise. Definitely a surprise," Rodriguez said of the trade. "I was a little bit shocked. I knew I was in a market where eventually the Mets would find a way to trade me. But I never thought it was going to be Milwaukee."

The Brewers, as it turns out, were among 10 teams on the no-trade list the reliever's ex-agent Paul Kinzer failed to turn in to the Mets.

Rodriguez has since switched agents, going with Scott Boras, but New York traded him before Boras had a chance to submit the list.

"I don't know exactly - still trying to find out exactly what happened," the 29-year-old right-hander said.

"After I got the phone call from the GM and he told me I was traded, I was a little confused. I just found out my agent never sent the letter to the Players' Association or MLB, and I guess that played out. Now the Mets had the opportunity to trade me anyplace or anywhere they wanted to."

Rodriguez did say the list was put together in 2009 when he signed with the Mets as a free agent and when Trevor Hoffman was entrenched as the Brewers' closer.

So while it's unclear whether the Brewers would have remained on a new list had Boras submitted one before the trade, Milwaukee's initial exclusion had more to do with its closer's job being filled.

"Exactly," he said. "I never thought there would be any chance for me when you have a legend like him over here."

That being said, is Rodriguez happy now that he's with the Brewers?

"Of course. Definitely," he said. "That's not an issue at all. I'm a Brewer now, and I'm just going to go out there and compete. I'm trying to enjoy every moment, every day, work double as hard as I can and help this ballclub. That's the only thing I have in my mind.""