Report: Tigers Sign LHP Rodriguez To $77M Deal

Multiple media outlets are reporting that the Detroit Tigers have agreed to a 5-year deal worth $77 million with left-handed starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (pictured above).

The deal is pending a physical.  Rodriguez has played his first six seasons of his Major League career with the Boston Red Sox.  He was a member of the 2018 World Series-winning squad for the Red Sox.

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Eduardo was 13-8 with a 4.14 earned run average (ERA) in 2021 with the Sox.  He will join a pitching rotation that features Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and possibly Matthew Boyd and/or Matt Manning.  There is/was an opening in the starting rotation with the loss of starter Spencer Turnbull, who will miss most, if not all, of the 2022 season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery on his arm.

Rodriguez didn't play any baseball in 2020 due to COVD-19-related myocarditis.  He has a career record of 64-39 with a 4.16 career ERA.

This is the second major transaction that the Tigers have made this offseason.  Earlier this month and right after the World Series, the team acquired catcher Tucker Barnhart from the Cincinnati Reds for minor league infielder Nick Quintana.

The Tigers finished 77-85 in 2021, good for third place in the American League Central behind the division champion Chicago White Sox.  It's the Tigers' best record since 2016, where they went 86-75.