After weeks of quiet since adding infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, the Blue Jays reportedly signed Cuban pitcher Yariel Rodríguez to a four-year, $32-million (U.S.) deal on Wednesday.
Here’s what you need to know about the newest Blue Jay.
Where is Rodríguez coming from?
Rodríguez began his pro career in 2015 in his native Cuba. He spent five seasons as a starter before signing in Japan, where he has spent the last three seasons.
Rodríguez didn’t pitch last year, instead sitting out the 2023 season and being released in October. That decision allowed him to hit the Major League Baseball free-agent market, where he was reportedly pursued by the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay, Boston, Houston, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and San Diego.
His deal with the Blue Jays is still pending a physical and “hurdles also remain with his immigration,” according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
What are his stats?
In 2022, his last full season with Japan’s Chunichi Dragons, Rodríguez appeared in 56 games and posted a 1.15 ERA, the lowest of his career. In two previous seasons in Japan as a starter, Rodríguez posted ERAs of 4.12 and 3.65.
He last pitched competitively at the 2023 World Baseball Classic for Cuba. He started two games and gave up two runs while striking out 10 in 7 1/3 innings.
Rodríguez has a fastball, slider, curveball, changeup and splitter mix, with his fastball sitting around 96 miles per hour. He will turn 27 in March.
Is $32 million worth it?
Rodríguez’s reported signing comes with some risk. He hasn’t pitched in competition in close to a year, he has never thrown a pitch in Major League Baseball and his role is undefined.
But the $32 million the Blue Jays are reportedly set to give him comes as little surprise. Teams have been giving out record contracts to international players, most notably Japanese starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a $325-million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December.
More comparable to Rodríguez, 30-year-old Shota Imanaga signed a four-year, $53-million contract with the Chicago Cubs earlier this month. As a starter in Japan in 2023, Imanaga posted a 2.66 ERA while striking out nearly eight times as many batters as he walked.
Where does he fit with the Blue Jays?
Whether the Blue Jays employ Rodríguez as a starter or reliever remains to be seen.
The team is in need of rotation depth. Alek Manoah, who flubbed his way through a dismal 2023, will likely line up behind starters Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi. But if things go wrong, Toronto can no longer fall back on Hyun-Jin Ryu, the left-hander who started 11 games last season but is currently a free agent.
In the case of injury or continued poor performance from Manoah, Rodríguez could serve as the next man up. It would take pressure off top prospect Ricky Tiedemann. But it also would require a significant build up in workload, given Rodriguez’s long layoff from organized baseball.
The Blue Jays could start Rodríguez in the bullpen, where they need to replace Jordan Hicks. The 2023 deadline acauisition signed a four-year, $44-million deal with the San Francisco Giants last week.
Rodríguez’s role will become clearer when pitchers and catchers report to spring training in mid-February.
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