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Eduardo Rodriguez

Red Sox Notes: E-Rod, Devers, Whitlock

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The Red Sox have scratched lefty Eduardo Rodriguez from his Opening Day start due to a “dead arm,” manager Alex Cora announced to reporters this morning (Twitter links via MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo). Fellow veteran Nathan Eovaldi will instead take the mound for the season opener. At this point, the Sox are calling the move precautionary and aren’t even certain that Rodriguez will be placed on the injured list. He’ll throw a bullpen in the coming days, and the team will evaluate him once they see how his arm responds. It’s possible Rodriguez will simply just have his first start of the season pushed back, but there won’t be any clarity on the matter for a few days.

The 27-year-old Rodriguez did not pitch in 2020 after being diagnosed with Covid-19 and then developing a subsequent case of myocarditis — an enlargement of the heart — in the aftermath. Rodriguez not only appeared to be healthy for most of Spring Training but looked quite impressive, tossing 13 2/3 innings and holding opponents to four earned runs on 11 hits and two walks with 15 strikeouts. He’s slated to become a free agent after the 2021 season.

A couple more notes on the Red Sox…

  • There have been no talks of an extension with Rafael Devers this spring, as the third baseman himself revealed this week (via Cotillo). Devers added that he’s very much open to discussing a deal, however. The 24-year-old is still controlled through the 2023 season, so there’s no immediate rush for the Red Sox to get him locked into a long-term deal. That said, he’s also reached the point of his career where he’s begun to build the financial safety net that removes some of a player’s incentive to take an early deal. Devers reached arbitration eligibility this winter and agreed to a one-year, $4.575MM contract for the 2021 season. So long as he remains healthy and approaches the .298/.348/.536 output he produced in 2019-20, he should be in for a sizable raise on that sum next winter as well.
  • The Red Sox have informed Rule 5 Draft pick Garrett Whitlock that he has made the Opening Day roster, Cora also revealed in talking with reporters this morning (Twitter link via the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham). That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the outstanding spring that the right-hander has put together. Whitlock, an 18th-round pick of the rival Yankees in 2017, has pitched in four games with the Sox and tallied nine innings, allowing one run on eight hits and no walks with a dozen strikeouts. The 24-year-old is likely ticketed for the Boston bullpen to begin the season, but he’s worked almost exclusively as a starter in the Yankees’ system, so it’s possible he’ll eventually work out of the rotation in Boston — if he sticks on the roster for the long haul.

Health Notes: Yordan, E-Rod, Bailey, Nottingham, Parra

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After he missed all but two games last season, the Astros are set to welcome back slugger Yordan Alvarez this year. It appears the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year will be limited solely to designated hitter, though, as manager Dusty Baker said Friday (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com) that it’s “very unlikely” he’ll play any outfield in 2021. Alvarez underwent surgery on both knees, and Baker commented, “It’s shown in the past that whenever [Alvarez] plays in the outfield, he’s hurting for two or three days, you know what I mean?” If Alvarez doesn’t see any action in the grass, it’ll leave left field to Michael Brantley, who battled his own injury troubles a year ago and spent most of his season at DH.

  • Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will return to the mound Saturday when he throws two innings in a simulated game, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com relays. That’s welcome news after Rodriguez missed all of last year because of myocarditis and COVID-19. Rodriguez was one of Boston’s top pitchers during the previous couple seasons, and as a pending free agent, the 27-year-old is heading into a pivotal campaign.
  • Reds right-hander Brandon Bailey announced on Twitter that he underwent Tommy John surgery on Friday. It was the second TJ procedure for the 26-year-old Bailey, whom the Reds acquired from the Astros in November. The 26-year-old Bailey made his major league debut last season in Houston with 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball, six hits allowed, and four walks against three strikeouts. During his most recent minor league action in 2019, Bailey recorded a 3.30 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning across 92 2/3 Double-A frames.
  • Brewers catcher Jacob Nottingham is not recovering from late-December thumb surgery as quickly as expected. Nottingham is only doing “small baseball activities” right now and will not be ready for the start of Cactus League play, according to manager Craig Counsell (via Todd Rosiak and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). A healthy Nottingham and free-agent pickup Luke Maile figured to jockey for the No. 3 catcher position behind Omar Narvaez and Manny Pina, so Nottingham’s injury could help Maile in his quest to land that job. Nottingham, who is out of minor league options, amassed 54 plate appearances last year and hit .188/.278/.458 with four home runs.
  • Nationals outfielder Gerardo Parra underwent right knee surgery in the fall and is currently at 70 to 80 percent, he told Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post and other reporters Friday. Parra expects to be ready for Opening Day, but having signed a minor league deal in the offseason, he has work to do this spring in order to earn a spot on Washington’s roster.

Red Sox, Eduardo Rodriguez Avoid Arbitration

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The Red Sox and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $8.3MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. It’s a repeat of the salary the two sides agreed to last winter, as is common with players who miss an entire season due to injury or, in Rodriguez’s case, medical concerns.

Rodriguez, 27, didn’t pitch in 2020 after testing positive for Covid-19 and eventually developing myocarditis — an inflammation of the heart muscle which rendered him unable to take the field. Rodriguez revealed in late November that he’s recovered and feels 100 percent again. After months of downtime, Rodriguez told MLB Network Radio that he’d been cleared to begin a throwing program and resume lifting weights in preparation for a return to the mound in 2021.

The Red Sox will have a difficult task in determining what type of workload Rodriguez should be earmarked for Rodriguez after not only a season away from the mound but a season lost to heart issues. Boston pitching coach Dave Bush spoke with reporters about the challenges of the situation back in September (link via MLB.com’s Ian Browne).

“For a guy like Eduardo Rodriguez, 200 innings last year and zero this year, we’re still figuring out exactly what we can expect from him next year and what’s a reasonable amount so he can pitch and be part of the rotation,” Bush said at the time. “But we also want to make sure that we don’t overdo it and don’t put him in danger at that point.”

The Red Sox badly missed Rodriguez in 2020, as a patchwork rotation often rounded out by journeymen limped to a 25th-ranked 5.34 ERA. A healthy Rodriguez is a key part of the starting staff in Boston, having pitched to a combined 3.92 ERA and 3.84 FIP with 9.7 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 from 2017-19 (470 1/3 innings).

This will be the final trip through the arbitration process for Rodriguez, who has five-plus years of Major League service and will be a free agent after the 2021 season.

Latest On Eduardo Rodriguez

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Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez is entering his final year of team control, in which he’ll earn around $8.3MM in arbitration, but his hope is to remain in Boston beyond 2021.

“I want to stay in Boston as long as my career goes,” he told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. “I want to play in Boston forever. That’s where I got to the big leagues. That’s where I got an opportunity. That’s my family. That’s a ballpark where I really love to pitch — the history, everything.”

Rodriguez emphasized to Speier in their discussion, which is worth a full read, how well he is doing after a season cut off because of myocarditis and COVID-19. He expects to return to the mound next year after missing all of 2020 because of those health problems.

“I’m 100 percent and I can start doing everything,” he said. “I feel fine. I feel great.”

You can’t help but feel happy about the progress made by Rodriguez, who was a quality starter for the Red Sox from 2015-19 before his health issues cut him down. Rodriguez recorded a 3.81 ERA/3.88 FIP in 203 1/3 innings as a member of the Red Sox two seasons ago and looked like one of the top young starters in the game then. One of the main questions now is whether the 27-year-old will stay in Boston for the long haul.

Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom didn’t make it clear in an interview with WEEI (via Rob Bradford) how serious he is about an extension for Rodriguez, but he did say there’s “a mutual desire” to hammer out an agreement. However, if no extension comes together in the coming months and Rodriguez reestablishes himself as a formidable rotation option next year, he’ll be a very appealing free agent a year from now.

AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rodriguez

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Some notes from the American League East:

  • Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins has spoken previously about making a high-impact addition to the roster. He reiterated that desire when speaking with Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link). Toronto indeed plans to make a run at elite talent this offseason, Atkins stated. That’s easier said than done, of course. Atkins also spoke of a desire to improve the team’s overall run prevention numbers. Trevor Bauer is handily the top free agent pitcher on the market, but the Jays could also look for a high-end defender to keep runs off the board.
  • Atkins also addressed the Blue Jays’ 2021 stadium situation during his MLB Network Radio interview (Twitter link). The current hope is the team returns to the Rogers Centre after playing their 2020 home games at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field. Atkins also left open the possibility of starting the 2021 season outside Toronto and returning to their home city at a later date. No one knows what the COVID-19 rate will look like next April, of course, so the organization is preparing “contingency plans” in case international travel continues to be restricted next year.
  • Last offseason, Eduardo Rodríguez expressed some openness to working out an extension with the Red Sox. There’s no indication the sides ever seriously discussed a potential long-term agreement, but Rodríguez is now just one season away from free agency. The Sox should approach the southpaw about an extension this offseason, opines Rob Bradford of WEEI. Rodríguez missed the entire 2020 season due to a scary bout with myocarditis after contracting COVID-19; fortunately, he’s expected to return at full strength in 2021.

Latest On Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez

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Normally contenders, the Red Sox finished with one of the majors’ worst records in 2020, winning just 24 of 60 games. One obvious reason? They received zero contributions from their two best starters, left-handers Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez, who missed the season with health problems.

While it would be nice for the Red Sox to get full years from both Sale and Rodriguez in 2021, that doesn’t appear likely. Regarding Sale, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom revealed Thursday (via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald) that the ace won’t be available when next season begins.

“When he comes back, that’s upside,” Bloom said. “Because we know that’s not going to be at the beginning of the season.”

Sale underwent Tommy John surgery in March, and that typically requires a 12- to 15-month recovery period. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that Boston will miss Sale for some portion of time next year. But it’s still less than ideal for a team that signed Sale to a five-year, $145MM extension that just kicked in this past season.

The news is much better for Rodriguez, who on Thursday told MLB Network Radio, “I will be 100 percent ready for next season.” Rodriguez had a career campaign in 2019, but COVID-19 and myocarditis shelved him this year. He was just cleared to begin walking again in late September, so it’s remarkable that Rodriguez is on track to be in the Red Sox’s season-opening rotation in a few months.

Besides Rodriguez and Nathan Eovaldi, the Red Sox might not be sure who will be in their starting staff when next year commences. Their rotation stumbled to a bottom-of-the-barrel 5.34 ERA/5.50 FIP in 2020, though Tanner Houck and Nick Pivetta showed quite a bit of promise over a combined five starts and could earn spots. Otherwise, Boston may try to pick up at least one veteran in free agency to fill out the group.

[RELATED: Red Sox Offseason Outlook]

Latest On Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez

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SEPT. 25: The Red Sox received “really good news” regarding Rodriguez on Friday, Roenicke told Ian Browne of MLB.com and other reporters. Rodriguez has been cleared to start walking again in a couple of weeks, and the Red Sox are hopeful he’ll be able to have a normal offseason.

SEPT. 24: The Red Sox have gone all season without their two best starters, left-handers Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez, because of health problems. Thanks in part to their absences, the Red Sox have gone a horrible 22-34 – the second-worst record in the American League. However, the hope is that the Red Sox will have one or both of the Sale-Rodriguez tandem back when the 2021 campaign commences.

Manager Ron Roenicke issued updates on Sale and Rodriguez on Thursday, saying (via Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic; Twitter links) that the former is coming along well in his recently started throwing program and the latter will meet with doctors in the coming days to determine next steps. Sale has been on the shelf since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March, while Rodriguez has been down with myocarditis after a bout with the coronavirus.

For Boston’s starting staff, there’s no doubting the importance of Sale or Rodriguez. Sale, a longtime ace, signed a five-year, $145MM extension before the 2019 season, and while his numbers dipped after that, he remained an above-average starter. He still has four guaranteed seasons left on that deal. Rodriguez has given the Red Sox solid production since he debuted in 2015, and with next season being his final year of arbitration eligibility, it could be a crucial campaign for him.

Without Sale and Rodriguez, the Red Sox’s rotation has struggled to the majors’ second-worst ERA and FIP in 2020. They’ve completely lacked solutions beyond Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez, who could return to the team next year as complements to Sale and Rodriguez if the latter two are well enough to pitch by then.

Red Sox Notes: Pivetta, Prospects, E-Rod, Yorke

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Nick Pivetta will likely get a look late in the season with the Red Sox, but the team has kept its newly acquired right-hander at the alternate training site long enough to delay his path to free agency by a year, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe observes. Pivetta entered the year at two years, 94 days of MLB service, needing 78 more days to reach the three-year plateau. With each individual day of the 2020 season accounting for roughly 2.77 days of service time in this year’s prorated schedule, he’d have needed 29 days to get there. That won’t be possible based on his current trajectory, as Pivetta just started in a simulated game yesterday, meaning he won’t be an option to join the Boston rotation until next week.

It could all be a moot point if Pivetta doesn’t solidify himself in the big leagues, of course. The right-hander showed flashes of his potential at times with the Phillies and is able to miss bats in bunches. Consistency has eluded him, however, and the Phils flipped him to Boston in last month’s trade for Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree. Pivetta can now be controlled through the 2024 season, but he’ll need to improve upon the 5.23 ERA and 4.64 FIP he’s posted over the past three seasons.

More on the Red Sox…

  • Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom spoke with Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald about player development and the decision to leave prospects like Tanner Houck down at the alternate site for much of the season — even as the big league roster saw continued struggles from journeymen who likely aren’t part of the long-term plan. Bloom cited a “big picture” approach to roster construction multiple times, suggesting that even if a prospect at the alternate site is a better option than someone on the MLB roster, that prospect’s development may not yet be finished. The remaining schedule is limited at this point, of course, but Bloom did indicate that additional young talent could yet get a look in the Majors. “There is one guy in particular I can think of that we’ve been building towards hopefully getting him an opportunity before the end of the year,” Bloom said without delving into specifics. (Speculate away, Sox fans!)
  • Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who did not pitch in 2020 after developing myocarditis as an after-effect of his bout with Covid-19, is in Boston for another wave of testing, manager Ron Roenicke told reporters today (link via MLB.com’s Ian Browne). The team has yet to determine how he’ll build up for his expected 2021 return. The club still doesn’t have a clear picture of when Rodriguez can resume baseball activities, though Roenicke expressed hope that he’ll be able to begin a strength program “within the next couple months.” The Sox might have to limit Rodriguez’s workload next year, pitching coach Dave Bush acknowledged. “For a guy like Eduardo Rodriguez, 200 innings last year and zero this year, we’re still figuring out exactly what we can expect from him next year and what’s a reasonable amount so he can pitch and be part of the rotation,” said Bush.
  • The Red Sox announced this morning that they’ve added 2020 first-rounder Nick Yorke to their 60-man player pool. The 18-year-old infielder obviously won’t be a consideration for the big leagues this season, but he’ll spend the final couple weeks of the season getting some development work in with the team’s staff. Right-hander Colten Brewer, who is on the 45-day injured list and already known to be done for the year due to a finger injury on his pitching hand, was removed from Boston’s player pool.

Eduardo Rodriguez Out For Season

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Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez has been shut down for the 2020 season as a result of the myocarditis he has experienced following a bout with COVID-19, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. While the Red Sox are confident that Rodriguez will make a full recovery in the long term, his heart issues have persisted and will prevent him from pitching this season.

Since going on the injured list in early July due to COVID-19, Rodriguez has dealt with mild heart inflammation that developed as a result of the illness. Thankfully, the condition hasn’t negatively affected the function of Rodriguez’s heart, though it has not subsided to the point where he’s expected to recover in time to pitch this year.

Needless to say, the outlook for the Red Sox rotation sans Rodriguez is a rather bleak one. Even with the 27-year-old southpaw in the mix, the rotation looked like a thin unit, but it was certainly a bit more inspiring than the patchwork unit Ron Roenicke will henceforth have to count on. With Chris Sale on the shelf for the year, Rodriguez was expected to shoulder a bigger load atop the Red Sox rotation, which currently consists of Nathan Eovaldi, Martin Perez, Ryan Weber, and Zack Godley.

Rodriguez emerged as one of the hottest pitchers in baseball late last year, authoring a career-best season on virtually every measurable front. He posted his best marks yet in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, and ERA. And if that wasn’t enough reason to be excited for another year of progress, he was at his best in the final month of the season, averaging 12.7 K/9 over his last six starts—his highest rate in a single month of his five-year career (minimum three starts).

Of course, the focus right now shouldn’t be on the on-field consequences of Rodriguez’s absence, but on his long-term health and recovery. We hope to see E-Rod make a swift return to full health and back on the mound in 2021. For now, his situation is a reminder that even young, world-class athletes are not immune to complications from COVID-19.

Quick Hits: Mets, E. Rodriguez, Tigers

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The Mets are off to a slow start at 3-4, and high-profile reliever Edwin Diaz hasn’t helped matters. Diaz, whom the Mets hoped would rebound this year after a subpar first season with the team in 2019, has allowed an earned run in two of three appearances this year. He struggled Thursday in a loss to the Red Sox, allowing four of five hitters to reach base. Afterward, manager Luis Rojas told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and other reporters that Mets bigwigs will discuss whether to use Diaz in high-leverage situations going forward. Considering Diaz has only thrown 2 1/3 innings this season, it’s far too soon to say he won’t bounce back. Nevertheless, it’s stunning to see how far he has fallen off since a tremendous run with the Mariners from 2016-18. The Mets’ decision to trade for Diaz and second baseman Robinson Cano continues to look worse and worse.

  • Infielder Jed Lowrie joined the Mets in the same offseason as Diaz and Cano, but he has barely played for the club. Now in the second season of a two-year, $20MM contract, various injuries have limited Lowrie to nine games and eight plate appearances as a Met. He hasn’t played yet this season, and the reason became somewhat more clear Thursday. It turns out that Lowrie is dealing with PCL laxity in his left knee, according to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. It’s still unknown if Lowrie will play for the Mets this season, however.
  • Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez has been out this season because of coronavirus complications, but chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told Greg Hill of WEEI on Thursday (h/t: Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com) that they believe he will pitch this year. “We do expect to get him back,” Bloom said. “I couldn’t tell you exactly when. Obviously, we’re fortunate in that the complication that he had was very mild in terms of the severity of it.” Rodriguez went on the injured list July 7 after testing positive for the virus and has been dealing with a heart issue related to the illness lately. If healthy, he’ll unquestionably be the No. 1 starter in a Boston staff that’s rife with problems.
  • The Tigers are placing oufielder Cameron Maybin on the injured list because of a strained quad, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com relays. Maybin suffered the injury Thursday, just the sixth game since the once-touted Tigers prospect returned to Detroit for a third stint. The club signed Maybin to a one-year, $1.5MM deal in free agency.
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