Proper-hander Yariel Rodriguez held a non-public exercise right this moment, per reporter Francys Romero. Romero provides that the Crimson Sox and Padres had been the 2 groups with representatives in attendance to look at the righty, who threw two innings throughout the exercise.
Rodriguez, 27 in March, was declared a free agent by MLB earlier this month after he was granted his release by the NPB’s Chunichi Dragons again in October. Rodriguez spent three seasons pitching out of the bullpen for the Dragons, racking up a 3.03 ERA with a 25.4% strikeout price in 175 1/3 innings throughout that point. His 2022 marketing campaign with the Dragons was notably spectacular as he dominated to the tune of a microscopic 1.15 ERA in 54 2/3 frames, with a 27.5% strikeout price in opposition to an 8.3% stroll price.
After his dominant work in Japan, Rodriguez suited up as a beginning pitcher for his house nation of Cuba throughout the World Baseball Basic, throughout which he struck out ten whereas permitting two runs on 5 hits and 6 walks in 7 1/3 innings of labor between his two appearances. Following his appearances within the WBC again in March, Rodriguez sat out the rest of the 2023 marketing campaign because the Dragons positioned him on the restricted record previous to granting the righty his launch final month.
Public evaluations of Rodriguez are few and much between because of the bizarre nature of his free company, however given his uncommon youth for a free agent and dominant numbers abroad, it’s straightforward to see why groups in want of pitching assist could be concerned with his companies, notably in the event that they consider he can begin within the majors. MLBTR ranked Rodriguez #28 on our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents record earlier this month, projecting him for a four-year, $32MM contract. Earlier this offseason, Romero relayed a listing of ten groups that had proven curiosity in Rodriguez that included neither Boston nor San Diego, whereas Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times indicated that the Rays had been amongst fifteen groups that had been represented at a exercise held by Rodriguez final month.
It’s unclear what degree of curiosity the golf equipment linked to Rodriguez thusfar this offseason have within the right-hander, although it’s straightforward to see how the Crimson Sox and Padres match up as potential suits. Boston has made it clear that additional starting pitching help is a precedence for the membership this offseason, together with the potential for pairing a top-of-the-market arm with a second, extra inexpensive piece. Rodriguez might make loads of sense as a secondary acquisition for Boston. Younger arms like Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, and Kutter Crawford have all proven a capability to pitch each within the rotation and out of the bullpen, serving to to ease the chance concerned in signing an arm like Rodriguez, who hasn’t pitched usually out of the rotation in skilled video games since 2019.
The Padres, in the meantime, are in want of a number of beginning pitchers after dropping Blake Snell, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, and Nick Martinez to free company earlier this month. With San Diego reportedly intending to cut payroll this offseason, Rodriguez might make sense as a probably impactful rotation addition with a decrease acquisition price than top-of-the-market arms like Snell. Rodriguez’s current historical past as a bullpen arm appears unlikely to scare San Diego away from a cope with the righty, as Lugo had began simply twelve video games throughout his final 5 seasons of labor earlier than making 26 begins with the Padres this yr. Martinez additionally has a historical past of working each out of the bullpen and within the rotation. His 2023 contract contained incentives accounting for each potentialities, additional demonstrating the membership’s willingness to get inventive on the subject of arms with expertise each beginning and in aid.
