The Blue Jays and right-hander Yariel Rodríguez have agreed on a contract, per reporter Francys Romero. The small print aren’t recognized however Romero says that the WME consumer is predicted to have his bodily in Toronto within the coming days. It was reported yesterday that the Jays have been optimistic about signing the righty however that immigration points wanted to be sorted out. As he’s now apparently headed to Canada, it could seem these points have been resolved. Toronto has a full 40-man roster and might want to make a corresponding transfer to make this deal official. Per Romero, the settlement is for 4 years and $32MM.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic confirms that there’s an settlement however provides that immigration hurdles stay. Enrique Rojas of ESPN stories (Spanish-language ESPN hyperlink and X publish) that Rodríguez will really do his bodily in The USA however is ready for a visa that may permit him to enter that nation from the Dominican Republic.
Rodríguez, 27 in March, has been an attention-grabbing wild card of this offseason. He had pitched as a starter initially of his profession in Cuba however then was moved to the bullpen throughout a three-year stint in Japan. He then briefly returned to a beginning function for Cuba within the 2023 World Baseball Basic, then didn’t return to his membership in Japan. He was finally granted his launch and has been holding showcases for MLB golf equipment.
Gamers coming to North America from leagues in different international locations will typically have extensive ranges of evaluations from MLB golf equipment. Given the weird path of Rodríguez, that variance may be even increased than regular. An optimistic membership may look to his youth, previous work as a starter and powerful outcomes as a reliever in 2022. However on the pessimistic facet of issues, the righty hasn’t labored as a starter in a few years and hardly pitched in any respect in 2023, which provides him an unsure path ahead. Firstly of the offseason, MLBTR predicted that Rodríguez may safe a four-year, $32MM deal.
He started his profession within the 2015-16 season of the Cuban Nationwide Sequence when he was simply 18 years previous. He pitched in 91 video games in that league over a number of seasons, beginning 72 of these and posting a mixed earned run common of three.30 in 464 1/3 innings. For the 2020 season, he signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Skilled Baseball. That membership saved him within the bullpen over the following three seasons. He tossed 175 1/3 innings in that point with a 3.03 ERA. He struck out 25.4% of opponents whereas strolling 10.4% of them. His 2022 marketing campaign was particularly spectacular, with a 1.15 ERA in 54 2/3 innings, placing out 27.5% of opponents whereas strolling simply 8.3%. He made two begins within the WBC, throwing 7 1/3 innings with 10 Ks however six walks.
Rodríguez obtained loads of curiosity this offseason, with many golf equipment attending his showcases. The Rays, Pink Sox, Padres, Astros, Pirates, Yankees and Reds all have been linked to him at varied factors, with some viewing him as a starter whereas others thought of him a greater match as a reliever. The Jays have been one of many golf equipment that considered him as a succesful starter and so they appeared to emerge as the favourite to land him in current weeks.
The Jays got here into the winter with their pitching workers in first rate form whereas their lineup seemingly wanted extra consideration. However including some pitching was additionally nonetheless a consideration for the membership, as proven by their curiosity in Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell. The Jays have 4 rotation spots spoken for, with Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi all nonetheless with the membership for 2024.
However the ultimate spot within the rotation is a little more murky. Alek Manoah had a rotation job coming into final yr however struggled badly sufficient that he was twice optioned to the minors. Hyun Jin Ryu returned from his Tommy John surgical procedure rehab midseason and supplanted Manoah within the rotation, however then reached free company at season’s finish. The connection between Manoah and the Jays will not be excellent after final yr’s struggles however he was nonetheless thought of to have an edge on a rotation spot not too way back.
Manoah’s title has additionally been in some commerce rumors this winter and it’s attainable that bringing Rodríguez aboard makes a deal extra doubtless. However as talked about, Rodríguez didn’t pitch final yr after the WBC and was working as a reliever for the earlier three seasons. The Jays doubtless don’t count on him to instantly pitch 200 and even 150 innings this yr with out difficulty, which means he may be extra of a long-term venture. It’s fully attainable that they preserve Manoah after which have Rodríguez working multi-inning stints out of the bullpen with an eye fixed on a bigger workload in 2025 and past.
Additionally they produce other potential starters on the roster, comparable to Mitch White, Bowden Francis and Wes Parsons. Not but on the roster however within the combine is prospect Ricky Tiedemann, who’s on the cusp of the majors after he reached Triple-A final yr. Nonetheless, accidents restricted him to only 62 innings for the yr, between the minors after which a stint within the Arizona Fall League. Just like Rodríguez, he’ll doubtless have some form of workload restrict in entrance of him this yr.
There are nonetheless a couple of unanswered questions for the Jays. How Rodríguez seems to be in spring after which how he proceeds all year long will undoubtedly influence the solutions to these questions. If he turns into a viable starter going ahead, he might help the Jays take in some upcoming departures. Kikuchi is slated totally free company after 2024, Bassitt after 2025 and Gausman after 2026. If that doesn’t pan out, the membership shall be hoping for a fallback plan of him settling in as an asset of their bullpen. Relievers Yimi García and Trevor Richards are slated totally free company after 2024 whereas every of Jordan Romano, Erik Swanson, Chad Inexperienced, Tim Mayza and Génesis Cabrera are slated for the open market after 2025.
If the Jays have sufficient confidence in Rodríguez and the remainder of their workers, maybe they’ll use it to handle their lineup indirectly. They misplaced Matt Chapman, Brandon Belt and Whit Merrifield to free company a couple of months in the past and have to this point made one addition by signing glove-first utility participant Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
The membership can nonetheless signal free brokers, with every of Chapman, Belt and Merrifield nonetheless being obtainable, nevertheless it’s attainable the funds is getting tight. Roster Useful resource estimates the membership’s payroll is at $221MM, only a bit above final yr’s $215MM, with their aggressive steadiness tax determine at $231MM. The membership’s CEO/president Mark Shapiro had beforehand indicated this yr’s payroll would doubtless be just like final yr’s. The small print of the deal for Rodríguez nonetheless aren’t recognized however the membership shall be pushed additional past final yr’s payroll. Their CBT quantity can even absolutely wind up over the $237MM base threshold.
A commerce may permit the membership to get one other bat or two with out having to pay open-market costs for present free brokers, nevertheless it’s additionally attainable there’s nonetheless extra spending capability for a free agent addition. The membership has been linked to sluggers like Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, J.D. Martinez and others.
