What to Expect from Eduardo Rodríguez in his Debut and Beyond

The prized signing for the Diamondbacks makes his debut today, here is what to expect.

Pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez throwing a bullpen in Spring Training. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic/USA Today

One of the Diamondbacks’ most significant signings in the offseason, Eduardo Rodríguez, is nearing a return from a left shoulder strain. Here is what to expect from the 31-year-old left-hander in his anticipated season debut on Tuesday, August 6, against the Guardians in Cleveland.

The 9-year vet had a 13-9 record with an ERA of 3.30 in 152.2 innings in 2023 with the Detroit Tigers. He worked a 5 pitch mix, 3 of those pitches being fastball variations. He threw a 4-seam, cutter, sinker, changeup, and a slider.

Velocity is not a trademark of Rodríguez’s as his fastball and sinker average 92 MPH. Per his Baseball Savant page, Rodríguez utilized his four-seam fastball significantly more than any other pitch in his arsenal, throwing it 45% of the time last year. The cutter and changeup were each thrown 19% of the time. The sinker and slider were sprinkled in, as both were thrown less than 10% of the time.

The slider is a pitch that Rodríguez throws the majority of the time to lefties. Conversely, against righties, the changeup down and away seems like the pitch he uses to generate swing-and-miss, and it works well off his cutter which he threw almost exclusively to righties last year. Watch for that two-pitch combo when he faces the righties in the Guardians lineup. 

The Guardians are a familiar opponent from Rodríguez’s time with the Tigers, and not just familiar. They are a team he dominated in 2023 giving up just 2 earned runs in 28.2 innings which makes for a 0.63 ERA with 29 strikeouts in four starts. 

Rodríguez could be a welcome sight for the Diamondbacks bullpen as he had a quality start in over half of his starts last year. However, the expectation is that Rodríguez will have a pitch limit of around 75 pitches, or 5 to 6 innings.

Beyond the narrow scope of his season debut, having Rodríguez healthy will be beneficial due to his playoff experience. In his stint with the Red Sox, he helped win a World Series and was vital in two other playoff runs.

His stats in the playoffs were not stellar but would be an upgrade for the Diamondbacks, a team that rolled out bullpen games in must-win NLCS and World Series games. The ability to have 4 or 5 experienced starters in the playoffs will prove extremely valuable come October.

The Diamondbacks are fresh off easily their best month of baseball this year, (going 17-8, in July, best in MLB). They've started off hot in August too, going 3-1. They seem primed to get healthy in the rotation and make a playoff push down the home stretch of the season.

Having Rodríguez healthy will only help the Diamondbacks playoff chances moving forward.