"All along this was the one trade the Mets were going to make, no matter how gamely they have fought to overachieve and hang around the wild-card race.

Because of that $17.5 million vesting option for next season, Francisco Rodriguez was gone as soon as Sandy Alderson could find a taker, and Tuesday night that turned out to be the Brewers.

Alderson made something of a statement with the timing of the trade, doing the deal one day after Scott Boras tried to throw his weight around as K-Rod's new agent. Citing K-Rod's status as "one of the top closers in the game," Boras all but warned the Mets here on Monday not to trade K-Rod somewhere as a set-up man.

"Closers don't make good set-up men," he said.

Never mind that Boras sent Rafael Soriano to the Yankees last winter as a set-up man after he couldn't find a big-money deal for him as a closer. In K-Rod's case, the Mets' only chance of trading him was as a set-up man, because no team was going to take him in a scenario where that option could vest if he finishes 55 games.

Tuesday night the Brewers weren't saying exactly what their plans are for K-Rod, but they have a quality closer in John Axford, who has converted his last 20 save opportunities, and they certainly aren't the type of franchise that can afford to let the $17.5million option go into effect.

So you have to believe the Brewers will use K-Rod as their set-up man for Axford, or perhaps allow him to share closing responsibilities, considering he is still 21 finishes away from 55."