Eduardo Rodriguez Explains Decision to Veto Trade to Dodgers

The Tigers and Dodgers agreed to a deal that would have sent the left-hander to Los Angeles, but Rodriguez shut it down.

A day after Tigers starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez exercised his no-trade clause to veto an agreed-upon deal that would have sent him to the Dodgers, the 30-year-old explained his decision to reporters on Wednesday.

“It’s nothing against the Dodgers or the West Coast or whatever. It’s just about the details to go out there and where my family is,” Rodriguez said, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck. “My future is where they’re happy and I’m happy and that’s why I decided to stay here. It has nothing to do with the Dodgers.”

Rodriguez signed a five-year, $72 million deal with Detroit prior to the start of the 2022 season, with his contract including a 10-team no-trade clause. Rodriguez has the ability to opt out of the deal at the end of this season and become a free agent.

The left-hander said that he had conversations about the trade with the front office, but declined to mention a specific reason for his desire to remain with the team.

“We had a couple conversations, but the details of the [Dodgers] trade wasn’t right where I wanted for me and my family. I decided to stay in Detroit,” Rodriguez said, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. “That’s something that is just between them and me, so I can’t tell you.”

Rodriguez missed about a month with a finger injury but has otherwise had a productive season. He gave up two runs in six innings during Wednesday’s 6-3 win over the Pirates, improving his record to 7-5 on the season with a 2.96 ERA through 16 starts.