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Just eight starts into his tenure with the Detroit Tigers, Eduardo Rodriguez's future with the organization appears unclear.
Rodriguez, 29, who signed in Detroit on a five-year, $77 million deal in November following six seasons with the Boston Red Sox, has been placed on the restricted list by the team.
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SIGN UP HERE The statement "is what it is," according to Tigers manager A.J. Hinch.
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"The restricted list part is the relationship between the player and the organization," Hinch said, via The Athletic. "I knew he wasn't gonna make his start, wasn't going to pitch in the minor leagues or major leagues at this time. This was inevitable."
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The lefthander hadn't pitched since May 22, after which he went on the injured list due to left rib cage strain.
Rodriguez was 1-3 with a 4.38 earned run average over 39 innings for Detroit, which entered Monday in fourth place in the American League Central at 24-35. The Tigers are 23rd in the majors in starters' ERA at 4.43, while Rodriguez's former Red Sox teammates have complied a 3.55 ERA -- eighth-best in MLB.
Rodriguez pitched for the Red Sox from 2015 through 2021 after the team acquired him as a minor leaguer from the Baltimore Orioles for Andrew Miller at the trade deadline in 2014. His best season came in 2019, when Rodriguez finished 19-6 with a 3.81 ERA over a career-high 203.1 innings and a league-leading 34 starts, finishing sixth in AL Cy Young voting.
But he missed the entire 2020 season due to myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart linked to COVID-19. Rodriguez returned for 2021, going 13-8 with a 4.74 ERA over 157.2 innings, before signing with the Tigers.