The Red Sox re-signed left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez. Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe tweeted this morning that Rodriguez was at the Red Sox’ spring facility in Fort Myers, Fla. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo added that he’s in camp on a minor league deal. Rodriguez is a client of L.A. Sports Management.
Rodriguez, 32, was with the Sox in 2023 but pitched just 11 innings due to oblique, shoulder and hip injuries that combined to result in three different stints on the injured list. He posted a 6.55 ERA in his short time on the mound, striking out 27.5% of his opponents against an 11.8% walk rate and 45.2% ground-ball rate.
It wasn’t a strong year overall for Rodriguez, but the lefty has posted far better numbers over the three preceding seasons in his return from an excellent two-year stint in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. From 2020-22, Rodriguez pitched 109 1/3 frames between the Rangers, Yankees and Mets, working to a 4.28 ERA with even more encouraging secondary marks. Rodriguez fanned 25.5% of his opponents in that time and induced grounders at a huge 55.7% clip. His 10.3% walk rate was still a couple ticks north of the league average, but the lefty offered an enticing blend of missed bats and grounders while excelling at keeping the ball in the park (0.58 HR/9). Metrics like FIP (3.14) and SIERA (3.51) were rather bullish on his work.
The Red Sox have little in the way of established left-handed bullpen options on the 40-man roster. Brennan Bernardino surprised with 50 1/3 innings of 3.20 ERA ball as a 31-year-old rookie last season, but the only other southpaws on the roster are Joe Jacques and minor league starters Brandon Walter and Chris Murphy. Rodriguez joins Lucas Luetge as a veteran southpaw who’ll compete for a job in Alex Cora’s bullpen. With a healthy spring, he ought to have a decent chance at winning a spot in a bullpen that’s seen a fair bit of turnover this offseason in the wake of a front office shakeup.
A lefty? How about that!
dewey – There’s our stud LHR we so desperately need!! ROFLMAO!!!
Never thought we’d be posting sarcastically like this. Very sad.
I like this move. We’re going to need innings, and maybe this guy will give us some good ones.
Knucksie – We’re going to need innings? So good thing we have a crap pitcher to provide them?
Very odd logic. Why after four of five bad years would you expect a good year? Is this a metrics thing? Because those estimates are always wrong too!!!!
TF – I think I will apply for a job with the Red Sox.
Maybe their front office needs someone to sit at their desks …. and maybe I’ll even get some work done!
FULL THROTTLE!!!
Oh look. A simpleton.
I have nothing more to say about the Red Sox. I was trying to be so positive after Breslow was hired and full throttle was said… I just can’t be that way any more. won’t waste my time with a 5 hour drive from Maine this year.
I won’t even pick up a remote to watch crap.
goody – Same here, I was so positive as well. I really wanted to believe ownership wasn’t lying with all the false promises of trying to compete this year and “winning every year is always our first priority” crap.
For now, it looks like total crap. I’m waiting another month to see if they will surprise us. if they don’t, I may not be such a positive happy person anymore. .
I’ll be there opening day. I’ll have a brand new hat too, cuz I burned mine last August lol.
Have to give the new Squad a chance.., at least the first month or two. Then I may join you guys on the couch lol, but with smoke stained fingers.
Gary, plenty of tickets to still choose from, no need to rush buying any!
That’s true. Can’t imagine the second series following. NESN might have to use computer gymnastics to fill in the crowd that doesn’t show up.
Gary – Maybe the Sox still have the cardboard cutouts from 2020.
Then you are part of the problem if you go to opening day.
Part of the problem? Wake up I’m a Red Sox fan. Doesn’t mean I’m happy about the roster but I’ll support the team.
The newbies only watch when we get to the WS. Kind of sad in a way.
FWIW, sure, I am disappointed that Henry isn’t spending, but I’ll root for the RS the same way I’ve always rooted for them.
“part of the problem”
Yes, Gary, please don’t have a good time.
Yeah dude, just like my father and grandfather did.
It’s supposed to be an innocuous pass time that takes one away from being angry and sad.
It’s a game…you know?
Joe – We know, we know …. Bronx Cheer ;O)
Gary… you’re the type of Redsox fan I can throw a few pints back with!!!! Or honey turkeys ( so smooth)
If “a few” means several, I’m in !!
Icon: no kidding it’s supposed to be a past time . They have one of the highest ticket prices in the league. Some hard working people can barely afford to go Fenway and this is the product they put out. I have been going to a handful of games a year for 30 years. Last year I didn’t go to one and I am definitely not going this year.
Boston has one of the highest salary base in the country. You probably pay more for a lot of things.
B dog – Yes and no.
The Red Sox are doing what other teams have been doing for years with dynamic pricing …. charging much higher prices for high demand games, but their crappiness has led to really cheap prices for games against crappy teams and weeknight games in April, May and September.
That’s the one silver lining to having a bad team, you can see them for much less because they’d rather sell tickets for pennies on the dollar than have a very low attendance. I’ve seen other MLB teams sell tickets as low as $2.
Joe – Right you are! It’s a very popular city these days because of the history, preserved traditions, and very low crime rate.
Hotels charge crazy high prices, you can’t get one in the city for less than $300 even on weeknights. And that doesn’t include hotel parking which is typically around $50 a day.
I’m not a Red Sox fan so I don’t follow them as intimately as others here, but I doubt any of this blame should go to Breslow.
The Red Sox had a hard enough time getting anyone remotely qualified to interview for their top baseball ops job, so my guess is that punting for another year or two (or longer) was part of ownership’s plan all along. It was never about reallocating money or building something sustainable; they took a (relatively) cheap flyer on Giolito and hoped they could catch lightning in a bottle, swapped out Verdugo for O’Neill, and otherwise pretty much just ran it back. They’d have to know they needed to do more if they planned on being legitimately competitive this year.
Breslow is a really smart guy and can probably do a great job if he’s given the chance to, but it was a huge promotion for him so I think he was willing to take the job even if it meant dealing with this. I’d imagine he’s limited in what he can do since his hands are pretty much tied.
Mike – Fantastic post! You definitely get it! Although $55.5M for Giolito is definitely not “relatively cheap” when you consider how cheap the Red Sox owners have become.
Yeah you’re probably right; it’s relatively cheap given their market size and overall payroll, but with the way they’ve seemingly acted recently it’s at least a decent chunk of money to commit on a dice roll.
I don’t mind going for upside, but they need enough help and overall certainty in that rotation that they probably would have been better off dividing that money among 2-3 high floor guys and hoping that Bailey can coax another step forward out of guys like Bello and anyone in the Whitlock/Crawford/Houck/Pivetta group that they end up putting in the rotation. If Giolito pans out then he’s gone and they’re in this same spot a year from now.
another KD influencer accusation! always hilarious
Michael – Another paid influencer. A guy pops up out of nowhere to suggest Breslow is doing a good job when he has sucked so far other than getting Hendriks.
Influencers are supposed to be a bit more subtle so people don’t realize you are taking money to write nice things about Breslow or the choices made by the front office.
Fever I can’t believe you fell for this guys horse crap.
Step back and reread the comments. It’s so obvious it’s ridiculous.
Think back to the guys that did it for Bloom. Same kind of crap. Not an ounce of truth in what they say. Smoke being blow up the fans rear ends. It’s really pathetic.
A cheap flyer on Giolito when you need a SP1? Right, great strategy.
Dumped the over pay on Verdugo which was actually good and then wasted it on a guy who at best will put together one year and then get injured. O’Neill was more wasted money that could have gone to a new SP1. He didn’t even mention the screw up of pay $17MM to ATL for Grissom.
And he closes like most apologists with poor Breslow his hands are tied but somehow they weren’t when he made three gross over pays!!! Real sound logic in that comment. Breslow has wasted money on three deals, made one good deal and dumped Verdugo as he should have.
I guess we should be happy that the team is trying to change fan opinion by embedding guys like this guy in social media. It’s not going to change diehard opinions but the fans who spend all their time hoping rather than evaluating will love this type of rhetoric from a paid influencer.
I don’t know if you’re trolling or not, but if you’re serious then it’s hilarious that there are people who actually think like this.
I’m sure the Red Sox have better things to worry about than paying a Guardians fan to say that their GM isn’t as bad as people think he is lol
it’s his go to accusation for people don’t agree with him and use facts to back up their assertions
also he’s 100% serious
Michael – Influencers are a real part of baseball and practically all industries. I have a daughter who did it for Globe Life. She was paid well for a college student and was told precisely the message she needed to get out to the public.
I’ve been on the Boston Red Sox site for years and I don’t recall EVER seeing your name. If your story is you are a Cleveland fan who happened to jump on this site and say a ton of things supporting Breslow and Red Sox management that’s fine. I do find it odd that you are the second person this week to do so. That aligns with a media rollout of influencers.
Watching the patterns of contributors across the multiple sections of this website I am familiar with those that comment on many different team sites and those that comment on the other team sites I’m interested in. Again, second new name, second barrage of compliments to Breslow and management in a week after nothing like that in the last year. It’s highly suspicious.
Bloom had his influencers and he ended up hurting this fan base for four years. I pointed out those people when it happened and they suddenly disappeared just as I hope the current group of influencers do. It’s not about you, it’s about protecting the Red Sox fan base from lies and propaganda created by the Red Sox marketing department or the GMs staff.
KD 17: the fact that you’re monitoring who posts what on this site and keeping track of names is certainly behavior of an influencer. same with making multiple accounts to agree with and promote your own view point and changing your screen name.
I’m a Guardians fan and have no connection to the Red Sox at all. Go look at the comments to some of their articles on MLBTR and I’m much more likely to be there. From time to time I like adding to conversations in the comments because I don’t just blindly follow my team and ignore the other 29. I don’t know this fanbase well but the ones I’ve dealt with seem to be relatively logical people who deserve a team that acts like they give a damn. You’ve managed to be the exception.
Not everyone who thinks differently than you do is being paid to defend the honor of a guy who couldn’t care less what I have to say anyway. This isn’t some odd conspiracy that fans of other teams are trying to take down your agenda.
Michael –
Keep contributing to Sox discussions, it helps avoid group think. Most of us realize being a fan of baseball is why we are on MLBTR. Please excuse the attempted citizen arrest of TrollFree.
Unfortunately, you’ve been exposed to rabies with TFs bite so please visit your doctor.
Michael – It was pretty ignorant of you to suggest thinking differently from me got you flagged. It was the rhetoric you used to support something you had never supported before. You want to keep up the charade that’s fine but go back to the Cleveland website if that truly is what you do or change your user id and try again with a bit less conviction on something you are not a part of..
I disagree with lots of people on a regular basis but they have been on the site and have argued points with me for years. It’s never about the topic when an influencer jumps on it’s about the way they emphatically endorse company policy. So keep the pretense up if you choose or simply go back to doing what you did prior to the last few weeks when you invaded our website. I’m not the police I am a whistle blower. And if this is your job, you need to disguise your messages better by being less emphatic and more matter of fact. It raises fewer red flags. Good luck learning your craft.
TF –
I’m not saying I’m “holier than thou”, if anything you typing that is essentially saying you are “holier” than me (you probably are, I don’t go to church). Calling someone ignorant is disparaging. You called him ignorant.
I know your passion for the Sox, dedicated fans like you are what can make Boston sports great. But it’s also a smart sports fan base, and people are capable of thinking for themselves. Having an alternate opinion is an opportunity to reflect, to listen. Maybe at the end of that you still have the same feelings as before, but taking your initial gut reaction assumption and scaling it so quickly is not a constructive approach. The whole point of a comment section is social discussion, not blanket statement shunning.
Also, the dudes a Guardians fan, cut him some slack. His team gets less rumors and spends less than ours does.
KD17: for someone who claims to take the high road you bare the most guilt for escalating conversations that eventually make them incredibly ugly. practice what you preach and be better if it’s that important to you. otherwise stop going to the well for same insults and accusations. Same goes for the “less BS”
Mo – I appreciate it. Obviously the Guardians are the team I know best but I just like talking ball so I can talk with anyone about their team. I get the groupthink aspect of it because it‘s definitely a real issue.
And yeah, if I only commented on Guardians rumors I’d have a lot more free time on my hands lol
The Redsox role players battling it out for a spot may suck, but at least there are a lot of them.
You’re from Maine? Then just listen to the games on the radio, like that little girl lost in the woods in Stephen King’s “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.”
Imagine how that story would have turned out, however, if she had been listening to the 2023 or 2024 versions of the team. Now *that’s* scary.
Yes, because Tom Gordon is really too old to pitch, so she’d be listening to him mow the lawn or something.
I’d bet that Gordon can still pitch more effectively than Joely lol
grnmtn – I was a huge Flash Gordon fan, so sad what Dee went through.
Fever- I was too. 1998 was a great season to watch him.
Doesn’t he own the single season save record for us?? ( to lazy to look up)
Ok after nap not so lazy… yep it’s him 46!!!
Olm – Yes he also holds the MLB record for most saves in a season by a former starting pitcher who is 5’9″ or less and also has two sons that played Center Field, Shortstop and Second Base in the majors.
This is a minor league deal..no need to get worked up
Pool – The thing is, nearly all of these types of deals end up with the player pitching in high leverage situations for the Red Sox.
Don’t let the “minor league” part fool you.
Fever – You left off sucking when they get prematurely promoted by idiot Cora. Rodriguez has sucked four of his last five seasons. This guy like you said will likely get in games and probably after we are 10 or more games out of first.
This move is dumpster diving. EVERYONE should recognize it as such and recognize that Breslow is 2 parts Bloom and at best 1 part DD.
TF – People are placing bets on when Cora will begin intentionally losing games again by using his worst pitchers in high leverage situations to show up the front office for not giving him a better team.
get the duckboats ready
Haha,
That’s funny.
Say Full Throttle next time. That’s even funnier.
full throttle
No harm in bringing a guy back on a minor league deal, although I’m more enthusiastic about Luetge than I am about Rodriguez. Dude had great stuff in New York not too long ago.
Oh ok so maybe 75-87 instead of 74-88 now right. Roflmao this franchise FO sucks right now.
Wow. The A L east now belongs to the Sox! Full throttle baby!!
If at first you don’t succeed…
When I retired from working I was really looking forward to going to spring training every year and enjoying seeing the Red Sox before the season starts. I’m just shaking my head and saying sorry it’s not worth the travel. Not worth the hotels… They even tried bringing back Theo Epstein and then turned around and said his primary concern is not baseball. It’s going to be soccer and hockey really???
The big spin on Theo getting an equity stake was he was coming to the red sox to advise.
Theo controlled Arctos, a sports venture capital firm. Henry wanted Arctos’ money to fund his PGA endeavor. Go to Arctos’ website and you see the Sox, Penguins, Liverpool, etc on the logos at the top of their page for teams invested in.
They wanted the money. Theo came with it. The brass then used his name to try and deflect attention away from their refusing to spend on the roster.
GASox – Of course I agree with all that, but I do believe that Theo will be a mentor for Breslow in the sense that he will be available for Breslow to bounce ideas off and help make decisions.
The extent of his involvement is anybody’s guess however.
John Henry said everyone needs to be held accountable. I think that means everyone except owners and management, meaning blame the players for everything even though we all know the talent is very likited.
Not quite the lefty we were hoping for.
Ownership is literally just trolling us at this point
A player actually CHOSE to return to this Fan Base? Shocking.
Like he was swarmed with other offers?
Good explanation.
APBA – You got an issue with the fan base?
APBA – yeah. Why would a player want to play for a team with a passionate fan base? All the good players are just scrambling to get onto the Rays… give me a fuching break
I don’t think the Red Sox fans are very happy.
Well, at least the psychotic ones.
Ignorant – Steve Adams nailed it as always: “Red Sox fans are plenty justified to be angry at how the offseason has transpired.”
I’d rather have Joe Sambito…. Possibly even Tony Fossas/ can stomach Joe Heskith… but really Greg Harris… he can face both lefties and righties…. Gonna be a fun year… NO EXPECTATIONS!!! ( beware)
Olm – We need Paxton back …. Mike Paxton, who was a great pitcher.
He could bring with him Jim Willoughby, Rick “Freddie” Krueger, Jim Burton, Tom “NotInMy” House, Ramon Hernandez, Tom Murphy and Don “KissMy” Aase.
Fever I was so happy when we got Joe S in 86.. thought he was going to be a huge help…. Sort of like Eric Gagne in 07…. Both studs at one time… but neither could hold a candle to my buddy…( for us in playoffs at least) will still watch as many games as I can… like above.. have to give them a shot… plus look forward to PAP… on nesn…
Olm – The Sox have had a lot of really good closers over the years. Not all were in their prime, but still …. remember when they had Lee Smith AND Jeff Reardon at the same time. Wagner, Kimbrel, Foulke … but the most dominant in a Sox uniform was Koji and Pap, those two were the best.
Worst would be Kim and Schiraldi.
Isn’t Joely Spanish for “Gave up a dinger?”
Full throttle, baby. That’s what I’m talkin’ about.
Careful! Don’t want to yank on those levers too hard!
Red Sox are like the popular high school girl- they’re involved with all the big names but play hard to get.
Since Dec. 1 the Sox have added 3 — Gio, McNeill, & Grissom and subtracted 3 — Sale, Verdugo, & Schreiber from the active 25. The rest is window dressing, or future prospects. If they add Monty and a 2d SP allowing them to move Houck/Whitlock to the pen this team can contend. IF they don’t the lack of SP innings and bull pen depth will result in the staff burning out just like in 22 & 23. Monty could still be a late add like JD in 2018, Clevevenger a 2d add. Not the best but doable.
jmi1950 – There IS still time and players to make the Red Sox competitive. I think we are all hoping it’s a great strategic move that happens late rather than a Bloom Spring Training like the last four years.
What’s really frustrating is how good Sale looked today. Not bad for a guy being paid $6.8MM by the Braves and is going to be the #3 starter on one of the finest rotations in baseball.