Rodriguez posted strong numbers throughout his three-plus seasons in the Pirates’ bullpen.
Acquired in a midseason deal with Pittsburgh, Rodriguez pitched to fine bottom-line results in Atlanta but carried worrying peripherals and faded down the stretch.
The Braves announced their 26-man roster for a National League Division Series faceoff with the Brewers, notably omitting right-handers Richard Rodriguez and Chris Martin from the group.
Rodriguez, 31, is under team control through 2023. He currently sports a 2.82 ERA, 22.8 K%, 3.4 BB% and 29.2% groundball rate.
While there hasn’t been any indication that the Jays are considering selling, it isn’t surprising that they seem to be prioritizing players who can help beyond 2021.
Ben Cherington and the Pirates have been one of the more active teams at the 2021 trade deadline. This activity is expected to continue with the trade of Richard Rodriguez.
Pittsburgh Pirates’ closing pitcher Richard Rodriguez has recently drawn interest on the trade market. He could be the team’s next player to go. After trading Adam Frazier Sunday afternoon, we continue to see a ton of pirates rumors surrounding players who will potentially be traded as the deadline nears.
Rodriguez figures to be one of the most sought-after players of this deadline season. He is not only inexpensive ($1.7M salary for 2021) and controllable (through the 2023 season), but he also posted some of the best numbers of any reliever in baseball.
The Pirates this summer can market two and a half years of control over a pitcher who has quietly been one of the NL’s most effective relievers since 2018.
There hasn’t been any public trade speculation about Rodriguez during the offseason to date.
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