Former Tigers southpaw may be destined for a move from Mo-Town to A-Town

In Wednesday’s issue of The Athletic ($), Jim Bowden suggested that the Atlanta Braves should offer free-agent Eduardo Rodriguez a contract worth five years and $90M because he “would be a good fit with the Braves and could slot into the middle of their rotation.”  But who is he and how well does he actually fit?

A Brief History of E-Rod

The Orioles signed Rodriguez as a 17-year-old international free agent in January 2010. By the end of the 2013 season, he’d become a consensus Top-100 prospect and reached the Double-A level in the Orioles’ system. At the deadline, Baltimore was in the race for the AL East title and traded him to Boston for Andrew Miller. He made his Major League debut for the Sox on May 28, 2015, throwing 7 2/3 innings of three-hit ball against the Rangers, and ended the season 10-6 with a 3.85 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 121+ IP.

Rodriguez started 2016 on the IL with a dislocated knee cap and didn’t pitch for Boston until the end of May. He struggled in June but righted the ship in mid-July, pitching to a 3.24 ERA in 77 2/3 innings from July 16 on, despite losing a week to a strained hamstring in August. E-Rod started 2017 by pitching to a 3.54 ERA in 61 innings, including 10 starts and one appearance in relief before suffering a partial dislocation of his right knee cap. He returned after the All-Star break and made 14 starts but threw only 77 innings with a 4.72 ERA.

He had surgery to permanently repair his knee and over the next two seasons, Rodriguez threw 333 innings in 61 games – including 57 starts – while pitching to a 3.81 ERA, striking out 359 and walking 120. He led the AL with 34 starts in 2019 and finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting.

Post COVID-19 Rodriguez

Rodriguez was diagnosed with COVID-19 in July 2020, which led to myocarditis that caused him to miss the rest of the season. He returned in 2021 and posted a career-high 10.6 K/9 but his ERA jumped to 4.74. Despite his seemingly mismatched numbers, the Tigers signed him to a five-year, $77M deal with a player option after the 2023 season.

His strikeouts returned to career norms in 2022 and his ERA came down slightly in the first two months of the season before a lat strain sent him to the IL. While on the IL, family issues forced him to ask for administrative leave and he didn’t return until August 21. While his ERA dropped to 3.81 in his last nine starts, his FIP jumped to 4.75.

Rodriguez was named opening day starter for the fifth time this year and started strong, pitching to a 2.13 ERA, 3.14 FIP, and 1.005 WHIP over 67.2 innings in 11 starts before rupturing an A4 pulley in his left index finger, making it painful to flex the finger. He returned before the deadline and pitched well enough that the Dodgers attempted to acquire him.