The lowdown on new Tigers LHP E-Rod

When the Boston Red Sox acquired Eduardo Rodriguez as a prospect in 2014, they had hopes of him blossoming into a dependable part of a championship rotation. Mission accomplished, as the Red Sox hoisted a trophy in 2018 and Rodriguez blossomed into a reliable front-end starter the following season.

After a lost year in 2020, Boston held on to Rodriguez to be one of the leaders of a retooled roster in 2021, and the 28-year-old lefty was part of a roster that rose from April surprise to ALCS competitor. Now, with a World Series ring on his finger and nearly 900 strikeouts to his name, the Venezuelan got the chance to explore free agency for the first time in his career. He didn't stay on the open market long, with a source telling MLB.com's Mark Feinsand on Monday that Rodriguez has agreed to a five-year, $77 million deal with the Tigers.

Here’s what you need to know about Rodriguez:

FAST FACTS
Birthdate: April 7, 1993 (Age 29 in 2022)
Primary position: SP
Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 231 pounds
Bats/throws: Left/left
Place of birth: Valencia, Venezuela
Signed: May 29, 2010, by Orioles
MLB debut: May 28, 2015
Qualifying offer: Received one

THE NUMBERS
2021: 13-8, 4.74 ERA (100 ERA+), 185 K, 1.9 WAR* in 157 2/3 IP
Career: 64-39, 4.16 ERA (110 ERA+), 892 K, 15.4 WAR in 856 2/3 IP
*Per Baseball-Reference

STAT TO KNOW
There are two numbers worth noting when discussing Rodriguez's 2021 season.

86.5: That was the average exit velocity of all batted balls hit off Rodriguez, placing him in the 90th percentile among MLB pitchers.

11.2: That was the percentage of swings against Rodriguez that resulted in hard contact (an exit velocity of at least 95 mph). Among qualified pitchers, that gave Rodriguez the 11th-lowest rate, behind only Corbin Burnes, Zack Wheeler, Freddy Peralta, Carlos Rodón, Max Scherzer, Brandon Woodruff, Lucas Giolito, Julio Urías, Charlie Morton and Lance Lynn. That’s good company to keep.

QUESTION MARK
Rodriguez’s four-seam fastball velocity has declined since he entered the league in 2015, with the pitch averaging 91.5 mph this season after coming in at 94.6 mph during his initial campaign six years ago. The southpaw has compensated for this by crafting an effective cutter and upping his changeup use, but an evolving approach and increased emphasis on throwing his entire arsenal in the strike zone created varied results during his contract season.

An eventful Fenway finale?
Rodriguez walked from the mound triumphantly in Game 3 of this year’s ALCS, but the moment came with a bit of controversy after cameras caught him mocking Carlos Correa’s “my time” celebration, which caused consternation from Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

“We don't act that way,” Cora said after the game. “We just show up, we play and we move on, and he knows. I let him know. We don't have to do that.”

The Astros would climb out of a 2-1 hole to capture the series and bounce Boston from the postseason, meaning that sequence of events might have been the last time Red Sox fans got to see Rodriguez perform as a member of the home team at Fenway Park. Still, Boston made Rodriguez a one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer, so now that he is signing elsewhere, the club will receive Draft-pick compensation.

He might have been MLB's unluckiest pitcher
Rodriguez’s underlying numbers paint a much rosier picture of his season, as he had the ninth-largest difference between actual ERA (4.74) and expected ERA (or xERA, 3.55) due in part to park factors and team defensive performance. Among pitchers who had more than 200 balls in play, only Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola had a lower xERA (3.39) and a bigger gap between projections and results than Rodriguez.

Using the same qualifier of 200 balls in play to eliminate a majority of relievers, we can see that Rodriguez’s wOBA of .330 ranks 129th out of 186 qualified pitchers, but his expected wOBA of .289 ranks 37th. That 41-point difference marked the second-biggest gap between xwOBA and wOBA, trailing only Arizona’s Matt Peacock by a few decimal points.

He’s lucky to be back on the mound
Rodriguez returned to action in 2021 after missing the entire 2020 season with myocarditis, a result of contracting COVID-19 in June of that year. The veteran left-hander was scheduled to be Boston’s Opening Day starter for the shortened season following a breakout 2019 campaign, which featured 19 wins and 213 strikeouts across 203 1/3 innings of work.

His return to the mound was a healthy one, as he paced the Red Sox pitching staff with 13 wins and trailed only Nathan Eovaldi in innings pitched (157 2/3) and strikeouts (185).