Lou Merloni shares his instant reaction to reports that the Red Sox are finalizing a deal to send Andrew Benintendi to the Royals. Merloni says the only explanation he sees is the team has lost faith in the outfielder.
Barring any setbacks, the Boston Red Sox will welcome Eduardo Rodriguez back to their starting rotation in 2021.
The left-hander missed all of last season due to a heart condition (myocarditis) that was related to his bout with COVID-19. After spending the offseason ramping back up to playing shape, Rodriguez appears ready to take the mound again for a Red Sox team that missed him dearly in 2020.
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"Eddie threw a bullpen yesterday. He actually did a good job in PFPs. You know he was trying to trick me into like he can run whatever," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Thursday. "Eddie likes his Instagram a lot. I see him working out in Miami, and I saw him running against J.D. like 10 days ago. So, you know, there's no excuses there. He's a full go. Eddie's a full go. He's is in a good spirit. He looks in great shape. He worked hard during the offseason to get to this point and, you know, very excited to, to have a full season of Eddie and see what he can do."
Rodriguez unquestionably was Boston's best starting pitcher during the 2019 season. The 27-year-old posted a 19-6 record with a 3.81 ERA in 34 starts. He led the team in both wins and innings pitched (203.1), and his strikeout total of 213 trailed only Chris Sale (218).
Cora hopes to see E-Rod pick up where he left off in '19, but noted the importance of closely monitoring the southpaw's health going forward.
"We had a taste in 2019, he put a full season two years ago and I expect the same thing but obviously his health is the most important thing," Cora said. "We have to be careful, the way we treat him, but he's a full go. That doesn't mean that we're gonna put restrictions on him. We'll take care of him. But I know he feels great where he's at right now."
Boston Red Sox
Rodriguez will return to a rotation that also consists of Nathan Eovaldi, Martin Perez, Garrett Richards, and Nick Pivetta. There currently is no clear timetable for Sale's return from Tommy John surgery.
