As the Los Angeles Dodgers faced a pressing need in their starting rotation at the trade deadline, they got deep into talks with the Detroit Tigers for Eduardo Rodriguez before the deal fell apart.
The first public report of Rodriguez declining to waive his limited no-trade clause came at 1:51 p.m. PT in a tweet from ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The Tigers signed Rodriguez to a five-year, $77 million contract in November 2021. His deal includes an opt-out clause that can be exercised after the 2023 season and list of 10 teams that Rodriguez can block a trade to. The Dodgers were among that group.
“We didn’t expect it at all. We wouldn’t have known one way or the other. We thought having a lot of his ex-teammates, our place in the standings, we thought we would be very desirable,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said hours after the August 1 trade deadline passed.
“But obviously for family reasons, we never got a chance to talk to Eduardo. But we talked to his agent numerous times, and we respect he had this right and exercised it. Obviously, we would’ve loved for him to join what we have going here, but it’s hard for us to argue with family reasons.”
At the time, the left-hander was 6-5 with a 2.95 ERA in 15 starts this season. Since the trade deadline, Rodriguez is 5-3 with a 3.99 ERA in eight starts.
He’s allowed a combined seven runs over and issued nine walks over the past two outings.
Why did Eduardo Rodriguez block Dodgers trade?
In his comments after vetoing the trade to the Dodgers, Rodriguez said the decision was not indicative of his perception of the franchise but rather for personal and family reasons.
Though, it was reported that Rodriguez’s agent sought a guaranteed contract extension from the Dodgers in exchange for waiving the limited no-trade clause.
Once Rodriguez was eliminated as a possibility, the Dodgers wound up acquiring Ryan Yarbrough from the Kansas City Royals.
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