Eduardo Rodriguez invoked his no-trade clause on Tuesday and chose to remain with the Detroit Tigers, and the decision is one that surprised the team that tried to acquire him.
The Tigers had a trade in place to send Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the MLB trade deadline. Rodriguez, who has a limited no-trade clause with 10 teams on it, blocked the deal.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman spoke with reporters on Tuesday evening about the disappointing turn of events.
The Dodgers, who didn’t come away with the high-end starting pitching they wanted, were shocked Eduardo Rodriguez didn’t waive his no-trade clause to play in LA. Maybe they should’ve anticipated that on the front end, but they say there was no way to.
Here’s Andrew Friedman … pic.twitter.com/xoGBWMOYi0
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) August 2, 2023
“We didn’t expect it at all. We hadn’t known one way or the other,” Friedman said. “We thought with having a lot of his ex-teammates and guys he’s played with, our place in the standings, I thought we would be very desirable. But obviously for family reasons, we never got a chance to talk to Eduardo. But we talked to his agent numerous times. We respect that he had this right and he exercised it. Obviously would’ve loved for him to join what we have going here, but it’s hard for us to argue with family reasons.”
Rodriguez missed a good portion of last season due to personal reasons. The left-hander has pitched well this season and has a 6-5 record with a 2.95 ERA.
For his career, Rodriguez has a 75-49 record with a 4.05 ERA. He has three years and $49 million remaining on his current contract.
The Dodgers are 60-45 and in first place in the NL West. They have faced some criticism for not being more aggressive at the deadline, but Rodriguez would have been a nice addition to their rotation.
