Eduardo Rodriguez hasn’t been a member of the Red Sox since 2021, but his longtime manager still has his back.
The 30-year-old left-hander is currently having a career year, posting a 2.75 ERA and 1.046 WHIP across 17 starts for the Detroit Tigers. Opposing batters are hitting just .218 with a .594 OPS against him, and his home run and walk percentages are the best he’s put together in his eight seasons in the Majors.
In the midst of this impressive campaign, Rodriguez made headlines at the beginning of the month when he vetoed a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, invoking the no-trade clause in his 5-year, $77 million contract.
Going to Los Angeles would’ve reunited Rodriguez with several of his Red Sox teammates and put him on a guaranteed, almost-perennial contender. Entering the August 1 trade deadline, the Tigers were 47-59, third in the American League Central, with the fourth-worst record in the AL. The first-place Dodgers were 59-45, the second-best record in the entire National League West.
Nixing the deal resulted in an overwhelming amount of backlash and scorn, even after Rodriguez’s agent released a statement on his behalf, explaining that he didn’t want to uproot his family. People couldn’t believe that a player having the best season of his career wouldn’t want to take his talents to a place where he’d have a better chance of winning another World Series ring. The most unkind speculated that Rodriguez was scared of the challenge, despite his three postseasons’ worth of experience with Boston.
Ahead of their series against the Tigers on Friday afternoon, Alex Cora politely, but firmly defended Rodriguez.
“I’m very proud of him, very proud of his decision last week,” the Red Sox skipper said. “This is just a game… put everything in perspective.”
“You make decisions based on your family,” Cora added. “He’s back home and things are well with the family, and I’m very proud of him making that decision, regardless of what people think.”
Cora also pointed out how crucial Rodriguez was to their 2018 championship.
“We talk about David (Price), and (Rick) Porcello, and (Chris) Sale in ’18, shoot, he pitched a lot, too,” the manager said, noting that he deployed the starting pitcher as a lefty specialist and reliever as well as having him start during that postseason.
“He came in relief in Game 3, and then nobody thought that he was gonna be really, really good in Game 4, and that was a fun day” the manager said with a smile.
Game 3 of that World Series is currently the longest postseason contest, in terms of both innings (18) and minutes, in MLB history. That night, Nathan Eovaldi became a Red Sox legend when he took over in the 12th inning and threw 97 pitches in a heroic 6-inning relief outing. He’d been slated to start Game 4, and couldn’t convince Cora to let him take the mound for a second consecutive night. Instead, the manager turned to Rodriguez, whom he’d only used as a reliever throughout that postseason.
“Just one pitch went out of the ballpark, but he was outstanding. I think there were a lot of players that helped us win the World Series, but that outing just put us over the top,” Cora said.
“People make fun of him because he didn’t go to LA. He has a World Series ring, he doesn’t need another.”
After his original rehab start was rained out on Thursday evening, Tanner Houck took the mound in Worcester on Friday afternoon.
Taking a line drive to his face back in June hasn’t made him skittish about facing live hitters. In his second rehab start, the 27-year-old right-hander mowed down the Toronto Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons. He faced ten batters over three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit (a single), striking out three, and not issuing a walk. While the plan was for him to throw 50-60 pitches, he didn’t return for the fourth inning, despite his count only being 34 (23 for strikes).
The Red Sox will likely activate Houck during their upcoming road trip.
Hall of Famer and Red Sox legend Wade Boggs was on hand for WooSox “Throwback Thursday,” and imparted some tough love to two members of the organization.
“I told them they don’t belong in Triple-A,” Boggs told Katie Morrison-O’Day of MassLive. “And get your rear ends back in the major leagues.”
The verbal kick-in-the-pants was directed at Bobby Dalbec and Christian Arroyo, who are both in Triple-A after spending parts of the last four seasons with the big-league club.
After losing the first-base gig to Triston Casas, Dalbec, has been with the WooSox for almost the entire year; in only ten MLB games, the former top prospect went 2-for-12 without an extra-base hit or RBI. He scored one run, walked twice, and struck out eight times. In the minors, he continues to show off a kind of raw power that he hasn’t been able to sustain in the Majors; he’s hitting .285 with a .989 OPS, and leads the WooSox roster with 27 home runs.
Arroyo was outrighted to Worcester earlier this week, after he cleared waivers. For brief stretches in previous seasons, he’d been Boston’s hottest hitter, but injuries and cold spells have prevented him from sustaining that level of success. Over 66 games this season, he’s hit .241 with a .638 OPS, nearly 50- and 100-point drops, respectively, from last year.
The Red Sox will continue wearing their City Connect uniforms this weekend, Cora announced Friday.
“This is not superstitions, this just looked good,” the manager joked. “They’re selling! Look at the stands, it’s yellow hoodies and shirts. Just a business decision.”
But since debuting the uniforms in April 2021, the Yellow Sox have been very successful. They entered Friday 24-5 overall, including 9-1 this season, and 3-1 over their last four games If they keep it up over this weekend’s 3-game set against the Tigers, they might want to take this show on the road.
“Oof, I don’t know,” Cora said with a smile, when asked if they’re allowed to wear the City Connect uniforms in away games.
Though they haven’t done so in the past, a club representative confirmed that the Red Sox are allowed to wear the Boston Marathon-inspired ensembles on the road.
Following Sunday’s series finale, the Red Sox hit the road for a long trip, with stops in Washington DC, New York (Yankees), and Houston. Only time will tell if they’ll be dressed in yellow.