Dan Shaughnessy joins Michael Felger on ‘Sports Sunday’ to talk about the chances the Red Sox re-sign free agents Eduardo Rodriguez or Kyle Schwarber, and the franchises’ spending philosophy, in general.
There's already a market for Eduardo Rodriguez, it appears.
The Boston Red Sox left-hander has drawn "early interest" from the Detroit Tigers, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported Wednesday. The Los Angeles Angels also are interested in Rodriguez, per Morosi.
The Red Sox extended a one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer to Rodriguez, who has until Nov. 17 to either accept the offer and stay in Boston or decline it and become a free agent.
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With two teams reportedly already eyeing Rodriguez, it seems likely he'll test free agency to seek a better deal. The 28-year-old could re-sign with the Red Sox in free agency as well, but it depends on how much Boston is willing to spend on Rodriguez compared to its competitors.
As Morosi pointed out, Rodriguez also has a connection in Detroit: Assistant pitching coach Juan Nieves was the Red Sox pitching coach during E-Rod's rookie season in 2015.
Rodriguez is Boston's longest-tenured pitcher and despite a 4.74 ERA pitched relatively well in 2021, setting career highs in strikeout rate (27.4 percent) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.6). The Red Sox need starting pitching, so if the price is right, it makes sense to bring Rodriguez back for his sixth season in Boston.
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It appears Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom is going against at least two bidders for Rodriguez, though, and that number could grow as Nov. 17 approaches.
UPDATE (11:05 a.m. ET): The Red Sox have offered Rodriguez a multi-year deal separate from his qualifying offer, MLB Network's Jon Heyman reports.
Terms of the deal haven't been disclosed, but it sounds like Boston is very interested in keeping the left-hander around.
