Ex-Red Sox Star Shockingly Refused Trade To Dodgers Prior To Deadline

Could Boston be a late landing spot?

Scott Neville | Aug 1, 2023

Ex-Red Sox Star Shockingly Refused Trade To Dodgers Prior To Deadline /

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The only Boston Red Sox storylines regarding the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline have been about former players with less than an hour to go.

One of the more prominent narratives was the unheard-of choice to turn down the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"The Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers had a trade in place for left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez, but Rodriguez invoked his 10-team no-trade clause that included the Dodgers and the deal is now dead," ESPN's Jeff Passan tweeted.

Rodriguez would have been a highly impactful addition to the Dodgers, a team that could use a frontline starter.

The southpaw has a 2.95 ERA, 91-to-21 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .216 batting average against and 1.03 WHIP in 88 1/3 across 15 starts. He's the top pitcher on the trade market now that Justin Verlander is on the Houston Astros.

Not only did E-Rod turn down being in the heat of a playoff race as a member of the division leader in the National League West, but he turned down a chance to reunite with seemingly half of the 2018 World Series Champions. Los Angeles already is home to Mookie Betts, JD Martinez, Joe Kelly and Ryan Brasier.

There are many reasons why a player puts a team on his no-trade list, but there aren't too many people out there that would prefer Detroit over Los Angeles. That said, he had his reasons, and still likely will be moved in the coming minutes.

More MLB: Former Red Sox Hurler Traded By AL East Foe, Vaulted Into Playoff Run

Published Aug 1, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu