Richard

Rodriguez

Rodríguez last appeared in the majors with the Braves and Pirates during the 2021 campaign. The 32-year-old righty has plenty of closing experience and gives the Marlins injury-plagued relief group some additional depth. He spent last season in the Yankees’ minor league system, posting a 3.86 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 24/7 K/BB ratio across 23 1/3 innings (17 appearances) for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The 32-year-old hurler -- and former Pirates closer -- has joined the Yankees rookie level affiliate in the Florida Complex League. Rodriguez owns a 3.28 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 9.1 K/9 over 228 career innings at the big league level while recording 19 saves. He’ll still need to serve an 80-game suspension after testing positive for Boldenone back in April.

Rodriguez was one of three notable players -- Jose Rondon and Danny Santana being the others -- to test positive for Boldenone. All three players are currently free agents and would have to serve their suspension with whichever team winds up signing them (assuming they do, in fact, get signed).

Pittsburgh traded Rodriguez this past July to the Braves, who non-tendered him on Tuesday night. He had an extremely poor strikeout rate down the stretch with Atlanta, but the 31-year-old reliever does boast a 2.87 ERA in 87 2/3 innings over the last two seasons combined. He earned 14 saves for the Pirates in 2021.

Rodriguez was acquired from the Pirates at the July 30 trade deadline but struggled to miss bats down the stretch for Atlanta. The former closer is now a free agent at age 31.

Despite having an 8-1 lead, Braves manager Brian Snitker just couldn’t help himself and wanted to test out his new late-inning combination in this one -- letting Rodriguez work the eighth while Will Smith pitched in the ninth. He did allow a pair of singles, but was able to work his way out of the jam without any runs scoring. With Smith remaining in the closer’s role for the Braves, the fantasy value of Rodriguez takes a massive hit with Friday’s trade and he can safely be dropped in most mixed leagues.

The Pirates closer had long been considered a near certainty to be dealt prior to the trade deadline, but it took right up until the final minutes for a deal to actually get done. Rodriguez has done an outstanding job for the Pirates, posting a 2.82 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 33/5 K/BB ratio over 38 1/3 innings while recording 14 saves. His fantasy value will ultimately hinge on whether he or Will Smith -- or perhaps a combination of both -- wind up closing games for the Braves.

There’s no word yet on what the Pirates will be receiving in return. Rodriguez hasn’t pitched as well since the sticky substance crackdown, but he should still aid the Braves in the late innings. He’s also under team control through 2023.

Indians second baseman Cesar Hernadez is reportedly on his way to the South Side of Chicago and now the Pale Hose will get busy looking for bullpen help. Along with Rodriguez, they’ve also been linked recently to Paul Fry of the Orioles and Ryan Tepera of the Cubs.

Mackey hears that the Phillies and Blue Jays are among the teams involved. Rodriguez is a logical candidate to be dealt in advance of Friday’s trade deadline, as he’s more of a luxury for a rebuilding team like the Pirates. It makes sense to get a deal done now. Rodriguez, who holds a 2.82 ERA with 14 saves over 37 relief appearances this season, is under team control through 2023. The Pirates should net a nice return here. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia hears that the situation “has legs” with the Phillies and that prospect catcher Rafael Marchan has been mentioned in trade talks.