Tag Archives: Eduardo Rodriguez

Eduardo Rodriguez Agrees to Four-Year Deal with Arizona Diamondbacks

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Eduardo Rodriguez is heading to The Copper State.

The 30-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher, nicknamed “E-Rod,” has agreed to a four-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks valued at around $20 million a year, according to ESPN.

Eduardo Rodriguez The deal is pending a physical.

The left-handed starter opted out of the final three years of his deal with the Detroit Tigers after going 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA in 152⅔ innings. He was expected to be moved at the trade deadline this year but invoked his no-trade clause to kill an agreed-upon deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rodriguez gives the National League champion Diamondbacks another quality starter for their rotation that includes NL Cy Young Award finalist Zac Gallen, veteran Merrill Kelly and youngsters like righty Brandon Pfaadt and lefty Tommy Henry.

During their recent run to the World Series, Arizona only had three true starting pitchers, using the bullpen to get through Game 4 of the NL Championship Series and the World Series.

At his best, Rodriguez offers a polished four-pitch mix he controls well and uses to generate strikeouts. Over his eight-year career, he has punched out more than a batter an inning, and his ability to limit home runs prompted the Tigers to lavish a five-year, $77 million deal on him after he reached free agency following six seasons with the Boston Red Sox.

Rodriguez missed almost half of his first season with Detroit in 2022 while dealing with marital issues. He was looking like a surefire All-Star this year until a ruptured pulley in his left index finger caused him to miss all of June. Rodriguez wasn’t nearly as effective after he returned, posting a 4.24 ERA over 15 starts and 85 innings as compared to a 2.13 ERA in 11 starts and 67⅔ innings before the injury.

He opted out anyway, forgoing the final three years and $49 million on his deal to hit free agency once again.

Framber Valdez Ties MLB Quality Start Record with Career-First Shutout

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Framber Valdez is on a monumental streak… And, he’s capping it off with a historic night.

The 28-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher threw his first career shutout and the Houston Astros beat the Detroit Tigers 7-0 on Monday night.

Framber ValdezValdez (15-5) posted his 24th straight quality start, tying New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom (2018) for the longest single-season streak.

“This means a lot to me, because it means I’m helping the team when I’m pitching,” Valdez said through a translator. “They help me with their great defense and their offense, and I know I’m giving them a chance to win.”

The All-Star left-hander gave up six hits and struck out eight with one walk.

“That’s a monumental streak — a lot of great pitchers have never come close to getting there,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “Players know when they are getting close to something like that, and that doesn’t bother me, because I know it motivates them to excellence.”

Valdez became the 12th major league pitcher to throw a shutout this season — on track for the fewest in a full season since eight in 1873. No pitcher has more than one.

It was just the 28th complete game in the big leagues this year — down from 50 during the entire 2021 season.

The Tigers were shut out for the second day in a row and club-record 21st time this season, tying them with the 1973 New York Yankees and 1976 Chicago White Sox for most by a team with a designated hitter.

Detroit had runners thrown out at the plate in the first and third innings.

“We made a couple young mistakes early, because we’re struggling to score and we’re trying to make things happen,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “That’s 91 wins for them, and a lot of that comes from elite defense.”

Jeremy Pena had three hits for the Astros and scored twice.

“We scored quite a few runs and I think we could have more,” Baker said. “I’m just happy with the results.”

Tigers starter Eduardo Rodriguez (3-5) allowed five runs on 10 hits and a walk in five innings.

“They just keep the line moving when they get something going,” Hinch said. “Eduardo wasn’t sharp and they got to him.”

Jose Altuve started the game with a single, stole second and scored on Pena’s single. Pena also stole second and Alex Bregman’s RBI single made it 2-0.

Valdez said the two outs at the plate inspired him to go for his first shutout.

“Once I got out of the third inning, I knew I had a chance,” he said. “That’s always a goal of mine, and today I wanted to get it because I was getting such great defensive plays.”

In the third, the Astros managed to add a run on an inning-ending double play. With the bases loaded, Kyle Tucker hit a grounder to shortstop Javy Baez, who was shifted to the right side. Bregman froze between first and second, preventing Baez from tagging him. Detroit turned the 6-3-4 double play, but Pena scored from third before the Tigers could retire Bregman.

Tucker made it 4-0 with an RBI groundout in the fifth and Yuli Gurriel followed with a run-scoring double.

Tucker added a two-run single in the ninth.

As usual, Valdez picked the team’s navy blue jerseys for his start, but said it wasn’t for superstitious reasons.

“I don’t know why, but they feel lighter to me,” he said. “We’re going to keep wearing them when I pitch.”

Eduardo Rodriguez Agrees to Five-Year, $77 Million Deal with Detroit Tigers

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Eduardo Rodriguez is heading to the Motor City.

The 28-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher, nicknamed E-Rod, has agreed to a five-year-deal with the Detroit Tigers worth $77 million, according to ESPN.

Eduardo Rodriguez,The former Boston Red Sox left-hander went 13-8 with a 4.74 ERA last season with the Red Sox after missing all of 2020 because of coronavirus-related myocarditis.

Rodriguez was Boston’s best starter in 2019, finishing sixth in the American League Cy Young voting and posting a 19-6 record with a 3.81 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 34 starts.

In seven seasons in Boston, Rodriguez was 64-39 with a 4.16 ERA.

Rodriguez joins a young rotation that includes former top prospects Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, and Matt Manning.

Earlier this month the Tigers acquired veteran Gold Glove catcher Tucker Barnhart from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for infield prospect Nick Quintana.

The Athletic first reported Monday that Rodriguez and the Tigers had finalized a deal.

Tampa Bay Rays Rookie Wander Franco Makes “Electric” MLB Debut

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It appears the sky’s the limit for Wander Franco…

In his Major League Baseball debut, the 20-year-old Dominican professional baseball player started at third base, doubled, homered, drove in three runs and showed a flair for the dramatic with a curtain call in the Tampa Bay Rays‘ 9-5, 11-inning loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

Wander Franco

Franco, who walked in his first MLB plate appearance in the first inning, tied the game at 5 in the fifth with a 362-foot homer that drove in Kevin Kiermaier and Yandy Diaz.

 

He showed confidence — and some swagger — on the base paths and electrified the crowd at Tropicana Field.

 

Called up from Triple-A earlier in the day, Franco raised his right arm as he neared the plate and lifted both arms while crossing the plate to a roaring crowd when he connected in the fifth off Eduardo Rodriguez and drew his first curtain call in the majors.

 

“In that at-bat I actually knew I was going to hit a home run because that was the pitch I was looking for,” Franco said through an interpreter. “I ended up getting the pitch that I was looking for and I was able to help the team out.”

Franco pointed toward his father, who was at the game, while crossing the plate. His father, meanwhile, reacted with pure joy when the home run was hit.

Franco got the ball back and plans to display it at his home in the Dominican Republic.

“I felt super good,” he said through an interpreter. ”God sent me a surprise with all this.”

Franco even drew a nice ovation when he went on the field to run pregame, and got a partial standing ovation when the Rays’ lineup was announced over the public address system.

“Pretty electric player,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Win or loss, we’re trying to win them all obviously, but it had to be a great day for Wander and his family. A talented player that’s going to be fun to watch in the coming months.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora agreed.

“What a good player he is,” he said. “The way he controls the at-bat for how young he is. They have a special one.”

Franco hit .315 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 39 games this season at Triple-A Durham.

Eduardo Rodríguez Named Opening Day Starting Pitcher for Boston Red Sox

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Eduardo Rodríguez is getting a second chance to make a first pitch…

A year after a battle with COVID-19 denied him a chance to be the Boston Red Sox‘s Opening Day starter, the 27-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher is getting a do-over.

Eduardo Rodríguez

Manager Alex Cora made the announcement this week following Boston’s 9-1 spring training win over the Minnesota Twins.

Rodríguez threw an efficient 55 pitches, striking out six and giving up two hits and one earned run over five innings.

“Indeed, it’s going to be Eduardo. He’s one of the best out there,” Cora said of the left-hander. “He had a great season in ’19. Last year, he wasn’t able to pitch for obvious reasons. What he’s shown now, he’s healthy and he’s ready to go. … It was just a matter of time.”

Boston opens its schedule April 1 against the Baltimore Orioles.

Rodríguez went 13-5 for the Boston team that won a franchise-record 108 games and the World Series in 2018. He went into the next year at the bottom of the rotation behind Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi.

But Rodríguez had the best season of the group, going 19-6 with a 3.81 ERA to finish sixth in American League Cy Young voting. He made his major-league-leading 34th start on the final day of the season with a chance at 20 wins but did not figure in the decision. Still, he finished with career bests in wins, ERA, starts, innings (203⅓) and strikeouts (213).

With Sale recovering from Tommy John surgery, Rodríguez was in line to start on Opening Day in 2020 before testing positive for the coronavirus and being diagnosed with inflammation in his heart muscles. He said he couldn’t even complete a 25-pitch workout without feeling tired; on Aug. 1, just one week into the season, he was shut down for the year.

After putting the extended rest and recovery time to good use, he said he’s ready to take advantage of a chance he has yet to have during his five major league seasons.

Speaking prior to Cora naming him the starter, Rodríguez told reporters he would be honored to get the ball in the opener.

“If given the opportunity, I’m going to be so happy to do it because that’s something that everybody wants to do one time in their career,” he said. “If I have the opportunity this year, I’m going to really appreciate it. I’m going to love it.”

Eduardo Rodriguez Signs One-Year Deal with Boston Red Sox

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Eduardo Rodriguez is seeing Red(Sox)…

The 27-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher, nicknamed E-Rod, has agreed to a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox valued at $8.3 million for the 2021 season, according to ESPN.

Eduardo Rodriguez

Rodriguez, a left-hander, had been eligible for arbitration. Tuesday is the deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players.

He didn’t pitch last season after testing positive for COVID-19 in July and later developing myocarditis, a heart condition associated with the disease.

In 2019, Rodriguez went 19-6 with a 3.81 ERA in 34 starts.

He’s scheduled to become a free agent after the 2021 season.

Boston Red Sox Rehire Alex Cora as the Team’s Manager

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Alex Cora is back in Boston…

The Boston Red Sox have rehired the team’s 45-year-old Puerto Rican former manager,.

Alex Cora

Cora led the Red Sox to the 2018 World Series title but mutually agreed to part with the club amid the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. He was suspended for one season by Major League Baseball for his role in the scandal.

Boston, which ended the 60-game shortened season with a 24-36 record, decided not to retain manager Ron Roenicke, who replaced Cora in January after serving on his coaching staff.

The Red Sox were not allowed to speak to Cora until after the World Series, which ended October 27. The lack of activity before then was a sign that they were focused on Cora.

Cora agreed to a two-year contract that has a two-year team option for 2023 and ’24, the team said.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to manage once again and return to the game I have loved my entire life,” Cora said in a statement released by the team. “This past year, I have had time to reflect and evaluate many things, and I recognize how fortunate I am to lead this team once again. Not being a part of the game of baseball, and the pain of bringing negative attention to my family and this organization was extremely difficult. I am sorry for the harm my past actions have caused and will work hard to make this organization and its fans proud. …

“Boston is where I have always wanted to be and I could not be more excited to help the Red Sox achieve our ultimate goal of winning in October.”

The team he returns to bears little resemblance to the one he last managed.

Chaim Bloom is running the baseball side now, taking over last offseason just in time to part ways with Cora. He welcomed Cora back in a team statement Friday.

“Alex Cora is an outstanding manager, and the right person to lead our club into 2021 and beyond,” Bloom said. “The way he leads, inspires, and connects with everyone around him is almost unmatched, and he has incredible baseball acumen and feel for the game. …

“Because of all that had happened, I knew that I wanted to speak with Alex once his suspension ended, but I didn’t yet know if it made sense to consider him for the job as well. Our conversations were lengthy, intense, and emotional. Alex knows that what he did was wrong, and he regrets it. … He loves the Red Sox and the game of baseball, and because of that we believe he will make good on this second chance.”

Bloom’s other big move last offseason was to trade 2018 American League MVP Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with David Price as part of an effort to get the Red Sox under the threshold for baseball’s competitive balance tax.

With Betts and Price gone, Chris Sale out with Tommy John surgery and Eduardo Rodriguez recovering from a COVID-19-related heart problem, the Red Sox finished in last place in the AL East.

But Cora also has hope for improvement in the 2021 season.

Sale is expected to return in the first half. J.D. Martinez, an MLB All-Star his first two years in Boston before struggling in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, is also under contract for at least one more year.

And the Red Sox have plenty of salary flexibility gained in the deal that sent Betts and Price to Los Angeles.

Cora replaced John Farrell as Boston’s manager after the team twice finished last under Farrell, despite winning the 2013 World Series with him. With Cora at the helm in 2018, the Red Sox raced to a 108-54 regular-season record and an easy win in the AL East. They led the majors with a .268 team batting average and 876 runs scored.

Boston then dominated the postseason with an 11-3 mark, posting wins over the Yankees and Astros in the AL division and championship series, respectively, before defeating the Dodgers in the World Series.

The Red Sox couldn’t sustain 2018’s success in Cora’s second season, finishing 84-78 and third in the division, 19 games behind the Yankees.

Cora, who worked as an ESPN analyst before leaving for the Astros, played 14 MLB seasons, including parts of four seasons with the Red Sox, winning the 2007 World Series with Boston. He also played for the Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets and Texas Rangers before finishing his career with the Washington Nationals in 2011.

Garcia Bernal & Luna to Co-Produce Fantastic Fest’s Fantastic Market with Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network

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Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna are preparing for a fantastic September.

The actors’ production company with Pablo Cruz will be co-producing the Fantastic Fest’s second edition of its international co-production market: Fantastic Market | Mercado Fantastico.

Gael Garcia Bernal & Diego Luna

Garcia Bernal, Luna and their company will co-produce the market alongside Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network.

The international co-production market focuses on genre films and highlights new narrative projects from across the globe, with a particular emphasis on filmmakers from Latin America, Spain, Portugal and Latino filmmakers in the U.S. The goal is to connect international film projects with potential production partners, sales agents and distributors.

In all, Fantastic Fest has selected 15 projects for this second edition.

Among the projects selected this year are Ventana director Rodrigo Susarte’s Invunche and Fright Night 2 helmer Eduardo Rodriguez’s The Darkness of the Road.

Click here for the full list of projects.