Blue Jays Reportedly In Agreement With Yariel Rodríguez

The Blue Jays and right-hander Yariel Rodríguez have agreed on a contract, per reporter Francys Romero. The main points aren’t recognized however Romero says that the WME consumer is predicted to have his bodily in Toronto within the coming days. It was reported yesterday that the Jays had been optimistic about signing the righty however that immigration points wanted to be sorted out. As he’s now apparently headed to Canada, it will seem these points have been resolved. Toronto has a full 40-man roster and might want to make a corresponding transfer to make this deal official. Per Romero, the settlement is for 4 years and $32MM.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic confirms that there’s an settlement however provides that immigration hurdles stay. Enrique Rojas of ESPN stories (Spanish-language ESPN link and X post) that Rodríguez will truly do his bodily in The US however is ready for a visa that may permit him to enter that nation from the Dominican Republic.

Rodríguez, 27 in March, has been an fascinating wild card of this offseason. He had pitched as a starter at first of his profession in Cuba however then was moved to the bullpen throughout a three-year stint in Japan. He then briefly returned to a beginning position for Cuba within the 2023 World Baseball Traditional, then didn’t return to his membership in Japan. He was ultimately granted his launch and has been holding showcases for MLB golf equipment.

Gamers coming to North America from leagues in different international locations will typically have vast ranges of evaluations from MLB golf equipment. Given the bizarre path of Rodríguez, that variance may be even greater than regular. An optimistic membership might look to his youth, previous work as a starter and powerful outcomes as a reliever in 2022. However on the pessimistic facet of issues, the righty hasn’t labored as a starter in a few years and hardly pitched in any respect in 2023, which supplies him an unsure path ahead. Firstly of the offseason, MLBTR predicted that Rodríguez might safe a four-year, $32MM deal.

He started his profession within the 2015-16 season of the Cuban Nationwide Sequence when he was simply 18 years outdated. He pitched in 91 video games in that league over a number of seasons, beginning 72 of these and posting a mixed earned run common of three.30 in 464 1/3 innings. For the 2020 season, he signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Skilled Baseball. That membership saved him within the bullpen over the following three seasons. He tossed 175 1/3 innings in that point with a 3.03 ERA. He struck out 25.4% of opponents whereas strolling 10.4% of them. His 2022 marketing campaign was particularly spectacular, with a 1.15 ERA in 54 2/3 innings, putting out 27.5% of opponents whereas strolling simply 8.3%. He made two begins within the WBC, throwing 7 1/3 innings with 10 Ks however six walks.

Rodríguez bought loads of curiosity this offseason, with many golf equipment attending his showcases. The Rays, Crimson Sox, Padres, Astros, Pirates, Yankees and Reds all had been related to him at varied factors, with some viewing him as a starter whereas others thought-about him a greater match as a reliever. The Jays had been one of many golf equipment that seen him as a succesful starter and so they appeared to emerge as the favourite to land him in current weeks.

The Jays got here into the winter with their pitching employees in first rate form whereas their lineup seemingly wanted extra consideration. However including some pitching was additionally nonetheless a consideration for the membership, as proven by their curiosity in Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell. The Jays have 4 rotation spots spoken for, with Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi all nonetheless with the membership for 2024.

However the closing spot within the rotation is a little more murky. Alek Manoah had a rotation job coming into final 12 months however struggled badly sufficient that he was twice optioned to the minors. Hyun Jin Ryu returned from his Tommy John surgical procedure rehab midseason and supplanted Manoah within the rotation, however then reached free company at season’s finish.  The relationship between Manoah and the Jays might not be good after final 12 months’s struggles however he was still considered to have an edge on a rotation spot not too way back.

Manoah’s title has additionally been in some commerce rumors this winter and it’s doable that bringing Rodríguez aboard makes a deal extra doubtless. However as talked about, Rodríguez didn’t pitch final 12 months after the WBC and was working as a reliever for the earlier three seasons. The Jays doubtless don’t anticipate him to abruptly pitch 200 and even 150 innings this 12 months with out problem, which means he may be extra of a long-term mission. It’s completely doable that they preserve Manoah after which have Rodríguez working multi-inning stints out of the bullpen with an eye fixed on a bigger workload in 2025 and past.

In addition they produce other potential starters on the roster, reminiscent of Mitch White, Bowden Francis and Wes Parsons. Not but on the roster however within the combine is prospect Ricky Tiedemann, who’s on the cusp of the majors after he reached Triple-A final 12 months. Nonetheless, accidents restricted him to simply 62 innings for the 12 months, between the minors after which a stint within the Arizona Fall League. Much like Rodríguez, he’ll doubtless have some kind of workload restrict in entrance of him this 12 months.

There are nonetheless a number of unanswered questions for the Jays. How Rodríguez seems in spring after which how he proceeds all year long will undoubtedly impression the solutions to these questions. If he turns into a viable starter going ahead, he may help the Jays take up some upcoming departures. Kikuchi is slated free of charge company after 2024, Bassitt after 2025 and Gausman after 2026. If that doesn’t pan out, the membership will likely be hoping for a fallback plan of him settling in as an asset of their bullpen. Relievers Yimi García and Trevor Richards are slated free of charge company after 2024 whereas every of Jordan Romano, Erik Swanson, Chad Green, Tim Mayza and Génesis Cabrera are slated for the open market after 2025.

If the Jays have sufficient confidence in Rodríguez and the remainder of their employees, maybe they will use it to deal with their lineup indirectly. They misplaced Matt Chapman, Brandon Belt and Whit Merrifield to free company a number of months in the past and have up to now made one addition by signing glove-first utility participant Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

The membership can nonetheless signal free brokers, with every of Chapman, Belt and Merrifield nonetheless being out there, nevertheless it’s doable the funds is getting tight. Roster Resource estimates the membership’s payroll is at $221MM, only a bit above final 12 months’s $215MM, with their aggressive steadiness tax determine at $231MM. The membership’s CEO/president Mark Shapiro had previously indicated this 12 months’s payroll would doubtless be much like final 12 months’s. The main points of the deal for Rodríguez nonetheless aren’t recognized however the membership will likely be pushed additional past final 12 months’s payroll. Their CBT quantity will even absolutely wind up over the $237MM base threshold.

A commerce might permit the membership to get one other bat or two with out having to pay open-market costs for present free brokers, nevertheless it’s additionally doable there’s nonetheless extra spending capability for a free agent addition. The membership has been related to sluggers like Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, J.D. Martinez and others.