Eduardo Rodriguez latest loss for Tigers rotation: 'He'll be out for a bit'

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When the Tigers leave Tampa on Wednesday a little more than a month into the season, Tarik Skubal will be the only man standing from their Opening Day rotation.

The latest casualty is $77 million ace Eduardo Rodriguez, who left his start Wednesday against the Rays with a left side discomfort after recording just one out in 23 pitches and is likely headed to the injured list.

"His left side is bothersome," said A.J. Hinch. "He said he could go, he never really felt anything during the week and it increasingly got worse during his warmup. He tried to go out there, could kind of tell he was off."

From his first pitch of game, an 88 mph fastball, Rodriguez's velocity was noticeably down. His heater typically sits around 92-93 mph; he threw just one over 89 mph. He tried to go with soft stuff instead and was tagged for four hits (and two walks) before motioning to the Tigers' dugout for relief.

Hinch and head trainer Doug Teter were already coming out to the mound to pull him from the game.

"He motioned the same time I was walking out, so he was coming out of the game either way," said Hinch. "He’ll be down, for a bit. Likely IL."

The Tigers already have four starters on the injured list -- Rodriguez will make it a full rotation. He would join Casey Mize (elbow), Matt Manning (shoulder), Michael Pineda (finger) and Tyler Alexander (shoulder).

That's without mentioning Spencer Turnbull who remains on the 60-day IL after undergoing Tommy John last July.

The Tigers signed Rodriguez to a five-year, $77 million deal this offseason to anchor their rotation, in part because of his durability. He led the majors in starts in 2019 and was among the league leaders again in 2021 after missing 2020 due to a bout with COVID-19.

Now he's headed to the injured list just as he was finding his groove with the Tigers. Asked how much it hurts to lose Rodriguez after his two best starts of the season, Hinch said, "Of course. We need our best players."

Featured Image Photo Credit: Julio Aguilar / Stringer