He curiously opted out and hit the free agent market. What ‘treat’ would he get.
Eduardo Rodriguez, 30, a left-handed pitcher who appeared in 26 games for the Detroit Tigers this year, going 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA in 152⅔ innings pitched.
Rodriguez signed a five-year, $77 million free agent contract with Detroit ahead of the 2022 season. However, after two years in Detroit, he decided to exercise his opt-out. He had three years and $49 million left on his contract with Detroit. The calculation is that he can get a better deal in free agency.
So how will Rodriguez fare in free agency, and what does Yahoo Sports have to say about it? When Yahoo Sports released its free agent rankings 1-25 on Aug. 8, it ranked Rodriguez 11th overall. He is the highest ranked free agent left-handed starter, behind only Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.
First, Yahoo Sports writes, “Rodriguez, who has resurfaced this year, features a combination of a 92-mile-per-hour (148-kilometer) four-seam fastball, cutter, and changeup. He was so dominant in the first half of the year with a 2.64 ERA that he forced the Dodgers to make a trade, but a 3.89 ERA in the second half raised some red flags.”
Detroit also attempted to trade Rodriguez to the Dodgers in July, expecting him to exercise his opt-out after the season. The two teams agreed to a trade, but Rodriguez exercised his no-trade clause and the deal ultimately fell through. Rodriguez said he rejected the trade for family reasons, but The Athletic explained that the deal fell apart when the Dodgers refused to allow Rodriguez to “add one year and $20 million to his contract in exchange for waiving his opt-out rights”.
Yahoo Sports brought up Hyun-jin Ryu’s name when speculating on the scope of Rodriguez’s contract.
“Rodriguez would be in the range between the contracts of Taijuan Walker and Hyun-jin Ryu, which is between $72 million and $80 million over four years,” according to Yahoo Sports.
Ryu signed a four-year, $80 million free agent contract with Toronto after the 2019 season. He was treated as an ace after leading the National League in ERA and finishing second in the Cy Young Award voting with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Walker 안전놀이터 signed a four-year, $72 million free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies after last season, and this season he went 15-6 with a 4.38 ERA in 172⅔ innings pitched in 31 games, reaching the 15-win plateau for the first time in his career.
At this point, we don’t know what terms Rodriguez’s camp is looking for, but the general consensus is that he’ll get something more generous than the three years and $49 million he gave up. Will Rodriguez be able to smile with a Ryu Hyun-jin deal?