Right-handed pitcher Yariel Rodriguez has officially been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, reports Francys Romero (X link). He is now free to sign with an MLB team.
Rodriguez became one of the more intriguing options on the pitching market when he was granted a release from his contract with NPB’s Chunichi Dragons a month ago. He has been conducting showcases for MLB clubs in the few weeks since but was barred from officially signing with a major league team until today. There’s nothing to suggest he’ll sign imminently, of course, but this removes the procedural hurdle he still needed to clear.
A native of Cuba, Rodriguez turns 27 in March. That’s atypically young for a free agent pitcher. He worked out of the bullpen over parts of three seasons with the Dragons. Rodriguez had a dominating showing in 2022, when he pitched to a 1.15 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate over 54 2/3 innings. He worked as a starter for his home country during the World Baseball Classic. Once that event concluded, Rodriguez decided not to report back to the Dragons. He sat out the remainder of the 2023 season — the team placed him on the restricted list — before his camp secured his release.
MLB teams figure to have differing evaluations on Rodriguez’s viability as a starter. He’s an intriguing arm with promising stuff and success at the second-highest level of professional baseball in the world. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported last month that the Rays were among 15 teams with scouts in attendance for one of Rodriguez’s recent workouts in the Dominican Republic. This afternoon, Romero listed (on X) 10 clubs that had shown interest in the hurler: the Astros, Yankees, Rangers, Pirates, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Phillies, White Sox, Mets and Giants.
wonder what kind of contract might end up with? sounds intriguing.
It’s going to depend on how clubs view him. His stuff definitley looks good enough he could be a starting pitcher, but it’s been a few years since he’s started games regularly.
My guess would be 2 years for 12 million if they consider him a relief option
Based on what?
@baron
Based on just a guess lol, Shintaro Fujinami got 1 year 3.25 million last off-season. He was a guy that had been lights out in the past but had settled in to a more above average role in the NPB. I was just figuring Yariel could be worth at least double that coming off some pretty great years in Japan. He could easily get more and teams may see him as a viable starting pitcher option for all I know. He by no means doesn’t have the hype or pedigree that a Kodai Senga has but he will still be pursued by quite a few teams I’m guessing.
TLDR- it’s fun to guess contracts just for the hell of it so I made a estimate based on previous NPB players of similar pedigree.
Hey, whatever floats your boat.
@baron
I literally have a canoe that has a chunk taken out of it from hitting a rock. Unfortunately my boat doesn’t float any longer. 🙁
Arcia, I am sorry to hear about your boat. Maybe some layers of duct tape will get it sea worthy again.
On the subject of the contract speculation, thank you for giving your thought. I appreciate the insight.
LOL
I would expect he’d be signed to be a RP.
Probably a pretty good setup for the back end of a bullpen, wouldn’t put him as a starter, too few innings of work for that kind of workload. Everybody needs bullpen help especially with how volatile relievers can be year to year.
“Rodriguez decided not to report back to the Dragons. He sat out the remainder of the 2023 season — the team placed him on the restricted list — before his camp secured his release.”
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Hmmm. Quit on his team? Not sure I like the sound of that. Why? So he could come to MLB?
He was in Japan with the permission of Cuba. He defected after the WBC. The semifinals were played in the US. I can see the logic of staying here, rather than trying to go back to Japan.
Payday > team
I’d say injury prevention. Hader style, but even more risk averse.
You don’t like the sound of someone defecting from Cuba? Who are you to judge from the comfort of your home in the US?
Think maybe he was referring to the optics of not reporting to his team for the remainder of the season. Not that he might be defecting. Just how I interpreted his comment.
But he commented out of ignorance without knowing the circumstances. That was the basis of my response.
Those numbers are extremely impressive
Tough guy to value. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up signing a one year deal in the $7M – $8M range to prove his value and set himself up for a big payday in 2024 if he is successful. If he wants more security up front, it’s hard to see a deal much larger than 4/$36M based on his history. There can be incentives added for total innings pitched should he become an effective starter.
Did you mean setup for a big payday in 2025?
Reliever in the making. Chapman type
Never sleep on the White Sox when it comes to signing Cuban players. Yariel Rodriguez is pictured here hanging out with ChiSox star CF Luis Robert Jr. at his recent MLB workout: twitter.com/dailywhitesox/status/17173916356238992…
La Pantera was also heavily recruited by White Sox players including Jose Abreu as an international FA back in 2017.
So you’re saying winning isn’t in his top priorities. Just show him the money.
They whole reason to defect from Cuba is to make real money.
Obviously money is the top driving factor. The White Sox submitted or were in the ballpark with top dollar offers for both Abreu and Robert Jr. when they were international free agents.
The White Sox do have some advantages with Cuban players to help set them apart. from the rest of the field. They have a long history with Cubans dating back to Minnie Minoso who was also employed by the team as their international ambassador. History is important to Cubans when it comes to baseball. ‘Mr. White Sox’ was also heavily involved in recruiting fellow Cubans until his passing in 2015.
The White Sox continue to have a large contingent of Cubans on their MLB roster that includes Robert Jr. and 3B Yoan Moncada. Many of their top prospects are also Cubans including Bryan Ramos who is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League and could be Moncada’s replacement at the hot corner or potentially fill their 2B hole by 2025. The White Sox also employ a Cuban manager with Pedro Grifol.
As for winning, the White Sox did win a championship in 2005 with a couple of Cubans contributing mightily to that effort on the mound, Jose Contreras and Orlando ‘El Duque’ Hernandez. Contreras was the White Sox ace down the stretch and throughout the postseason which might not have happened without an arm angle pitching adjustment suggested to him by Hernandez during the season. Contreras is also employed by the White Sox as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations and has assumed the role as their international ambassador. He will also figure heavily in the recruitment of Yariel Rodriguez.
What’s interesting to me is that he has been working out at the Padres facility in the DR since going there to establish legal residency, but they are not mentioned in this article at all.
Y Rod Texas Ranger