Rodriguez is no stranger to playing abroad, having already spent part of the 2023-2024 seasons in Japan with the Yakult Swallows. He posted a 2.77 ERA over 78 innings in Nippon Professional Baseball, which led to a one-year split contract with the Brewers last winter to mark his return to the MLB. The deal included both the club option and a $900,000 salary for Rodriguez’s time in the majors through 2025, which ended up being 19 2/3 innings of 9.15 ERA ball with the Brewers and Orioles.
Milwaukee dealt with a slew of rotation injuries early in the season, which opened the door for Rodriguez to make the Opening Day roster and make two starts during his six appearances for the Brew Crew. After being designated for assignment in July, the O’s claimed Rodriguez but also DFA’d him in early September, at which point Arizona stepped in for another waiver claim. The Diamondbacks did not give Rodriguez a single look on their active roster, and his time in the organization will now end after four Triple-A appearances.
Rodriguez made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2022, and his overall resume in the bigs consists of a 9.40 ERA over 52 2/3 total innings. The right-hander allowed a whopping 21 home runs within that small sample size, and keeping the ball in the park has been a consistent problem for Rodriguez, even in his minor league career. Notably, Rodriguez allowed just one home run in 45 innings with the Swallows in 2024, which could be why he could once again consider leaving North American ball. A deal with an international team would certainly give Rodriguez more guaranteed money than a contract with an MLB team, as Rodriguez will likely only see minor league offers this winter.
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