Fallout of Eduardo Rodriguez Signing

The first major domino of the offseason has already fallen. The first starting pitcher is off the board. Which hungry big market team pulled the trigger on a big name before someone else could swoop in? The… Tigers? Signing Eduardo Rodriguez? Weird. My first reaction was confusion when I saw the news. But the more you look at the details, this should prove to be a really savvy signing for the Tigers. The reports look like a 5 year contract for $77 million with an opt out after year 2, a no trade clause of some sort, and incentives that we do not know about. However, that is an AAV of only $15.4M, $3M less than the qualifying offer that the Sox offered that he recently declined. So. Let’s unpack and go over some initial winners and losers.

Winner: Eduardo Rodriguez

E-Rod took what looks like a cheaper contract than expected, however he got the opt out and no trade clause and essentially controls his own future. He also has incentives that we do not yet know, so one would guess he is essentially betting on himself here. He may have been able to get better money with the Angels, but he is now the veteran on a very good young pitching staff and I think he will enjoy his time in Detroit.

Loser: Los Angeles Angels

The Angels were highly interested in E-Rod and missed out on a pretty team-friendly contract with the young left-hander. I have to wonder if they offered more and E-Rod preferred Detroit. Regardless, the Angels now missed out on one of the bigger starting pitcher names and are now forced to make a move fast to make sure they don’t miss out on the others. Expect a compensation move where the Angels give someone way too much money again.

Winner: Detroit Tigers

The Tigers got a great young starter to lead their even younger staff. They got a good price. I expect them to still sign Correa and if they made one more splashy move, they could contend with the White Sox soon…

Winner & Loser: Boston Red Sox

On the one hand, the Sox need a starter and they failed to bring E-Rod back. They are now in a similar boat to the Angels where they are rushed to make a move quicker. However, on the other hand, I did not want the Sox to overpay for a usually inconsistent E-Rod, and they did not do that. They also offered him the QO, so they get compensation for his signing. If they were able to bring in a guy like Scherzer who was not eligible for the QO, they could end up netting a draft pick out of the deal. Time will tell if this was good or bad for the Sox, but I am not missing E-Rod just yet. Hopefully he doesn’t bloom into another level of player for the Tigers.

 

KA Sports Photos from Hanover, MD, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons