Detroit has already kicked the door open, this off-season by acquiring Catcher, Tucker Barnhart from the Cincinnati Reds in a trade. This off-season is just getting started however for Al Avila and the Tigers, with a long winter coming and plenty of holes to fill. Today we learned that the Detroit Tigers are pursuing a starting pitcher from the Boston Redsox.
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Jon Morosi, contributor to Bally Sports Detroit, confirmed that Detroit was looking into signing free agent starting pitcher, Eduardo Rodriguez... Rodriguez has been one the most consistent and productive pitchers on the Boston Redsox the past 6 seasons. At just 28 years of age, Eduardo Rodriguez has failed to record an above .500 win percentage just twice in his career, 2016 and 17. Both those seasons he had a decent ERA of 4.71 and 4.19...
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In his time in Boston he shared a rotation with big names... David Price, Rick Porcello, and Chris Sale. He shared the rubber with Nathan Evoldi as well, better known for "Nasty Nate", Evoldi has developed into a clutch ace in the past 3 seasons. Even when playing alongside pitchers of that caliber, Rodriguez still found himself near the top of the chain in the Redsox rotation.
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In his rookie year (2015) Rodriguez was ultra impressive, with 10 wins, 6 losses, an 3.85 ERA, in 21 games played. The following two seasons wasn't as productive as mentioned earlier, but... Eduardo bounced back in 2018, with 13 wins, 5 losses, an 3.82 ERA, in 27 games played... That was enough to help them win the World Series. He backed that up with an even better year in 2019, with 19 wins, 6 losses, an 3.81 ERA, in 34 games played. Unfortunately after his best season, the following year (2020) he was forced to miss after being diagnosed with myocarditis (inflammation in the heart), a condition that may be related to his contraction of COVID-19. It proved to be a big blow to the Redsox as they missed the playoffs that year.
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It was an highly anticipated return for the southpaw in 2021 as Boston looked to get back to the postseason and have a chance to win it all. He came back and was the same Eduardo Rodriguez he was his previous 5 seasons. He helped lead the Redsox to an ALCS appearance, where they were stopped short of an American League Pennant by the Houston Astros. In the 2021 regular season, Rodriguez put together, 13 wins, 8 losses, an 4.74 ERA, in 32 games played.
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Now the Detroit Tigers look to add him to their rotation of youth, that feature's Casey Mize, Tarik Skuball, and Matt Manning. With the departure of Veteran right handed pitcher, Wily Peralta in free agency this off-season and Detroit being forced to have a bullpen game every 5 games, it's no secret the Tigers need a starter or two.
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Per Morosi, the Tigers have a leg up on the Las Angeles Angels, because of Rodriguez's relationship with assistant pitching coach Juan Nieves. The addition of Eduardo Rodriguez could propel Detroit to a playoff berth with a need that big filled with that big of talent.
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Thanks for reading!.
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