Eduardo Rodriguez has spent his entire MLB career with the Boston Red Sox to this point.
The lefty has played in six seasons at the MLB level so far, and the results have been mixed.
There have been some very high highs and some very low lows.
Rodriguez and the Red Sox are going to find themselves in a very interesting situation this offseason, as the 28-year-old is set to become a free agent.
The big question is this: Should Boston move forward with Rodriguez as part of the organization’s future?
Let’s try to come to a conclusion.
Evaluating Rodriguez’s MLB Career So Far
It’s hard to summarize Rodriguez’s MLB career in just a few words, so we’re going to take a legit look at it.
He entered the big leagues in 2015 at the age of 22.
He turned some heads in his rookie campaign, as he managed to post a 3.85 ERA and 3.92 FIP across 21 starts.
Unfortunately, he took a step back the following season.
The lefty posted an underwhelming 4.71 ERA and 4.43 FIP over 20 starts in 2016.
Over the next few years, Rodriguez was very serviceable.
He pitched to a 3.92 ERA, 118 ERA+, and 3.84 FIP over 86 outings from 2017 to 2019.
He even helped Boston win a World Series title in 2018.
He was a key part of that team’s run.
For that reason alone, Red Sox fans will always be grateful for his time with the team.
Rodriguez opted out of the 2020 season due to the pandemic, so we didn’t see him last year.
When the 2021 season rolled around, a lot of folks had high hopes for him.
Unfortunately, it has been a frustrating year for the 6-foot-2 pro.
He has an ugly 5.00 ERA over 28 starts, and he simply hasn’t been able to put together a lengthy run of quality outings this season.
Interestingly, he does have a 3.47 FIP.
That figure suggests that his ERA isn’t a fair representation of how he has been throwing the ball this year.
We’ll talk more about that in a minute.
So, with all of this in mind, will Rodriguez be wearing a Red Sox uniform after this season?
If The Price Is Right, Boston Might As Well Keep Rodriguez Around
Throughout his entire MLB career, the Red Sox have only ever asked Rodriguez to be a middle/back-of-the-rotation starter.
Most years, he has lived up to that expectation.
Some folks would say that he has been horrible this season, but by many measures, you could interpret this year as a positive one for Rodriguez.
As strange as it sounds, this season has been one of the best of his career according to a variety of predictive statistics.
Make of that what you want.
It remains to be seen what Rodriguez’s asking price is going to be in contract negations this offseason, but if it’s reasonable, the Red Sox should bring him back.
He’s a really good fit with the organization, and most often than not, he delivers the results you want from your No. 3 or No. 4 starter.
Plus, if you put a lot of stock into predictive stats, then you could even argue that his production is trending in the right direction.
It’s an interesting debate, and we’ll just have to see what happens in the offseason.
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