Boston Red Sox Report Cards: Eduardo Rodriguez

The BoSox Injection staff reflects on the 2016 season by grading each member of the Boston Red Sox based on expectations for them entering the season.

The commencement of Eduardo Rodriguez’s 2016 season was delayed until May 31 due to injury and perhaps said injury contributed to his mighty initial struggles.

On February 27, 2016, Eduardo Rodriguez was diagnosed with a patellar subluxation of his right knee, a temporary partial dislocation of the kneecap, in which the kneecap no longer travels centrally along the groove designed to enable smooth pain-free motion. Instead, the kneecap is pulled to the periphery of the groove frequently resulting in discomfort and joint instability.

Rodriguez completed the 2016 campaign with a 3-7 record and a 4.71 ERA. While those numbers are not pretty, Rodriguez pitched much more effectively in his final 11 starts relative to his first nine. If one merely glances at Rodriguez’s seasonal statistics, failing to consider his marked improvement, it might appear that Eduardo Rodriguez had an unsuccessful season.

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Upon comparing Rodriguez’s performance over his first nine starts to his performance over his final eleven starts, the enormous disparity becomes self-evident.

It should be noted that the Major League averages for Strikeout rate, Bases on Balls rate, and slash, (BA/OBA/SLG), are 20.8%, 7.9%, and .255/.319/.411, respectively.

In Rodriguez’s first nine starts of the 2016 campaign, a period that spanned from May 31 to July 27, he pitched as if he were still dealing with an injury. In those nine starts, he accumulated 47.0 IP, produced a 6.51 ERA, along with a 7.24 FIP. In addition, he issued bases on balls at an 8.5% rate, struck out only 17.1% of opposing batters, while yielding a ridiculous 5.7% HR rate. Furthermore, he produced a slash line of .302/.360/.557.

During this period, Rodriguez authored one of the most atrocious starts that I have ever witnessed which, not surprisingly, resulted in his demotion to Pawtucket. On June 27 at Tampa, Rodriguez allowed 11 Hits, nine ER, along with two home runs in just 2.2 innings. Rodriguez would spend the next 20 days in beautiful Rhode Island before returning to Boston to make a July 16 start at the Yankees.

In Rodriguez’s last 11 starts of the season, he pitched brilliantly. It was difficult to fathom that he was the same pitcher who made those initial nine starts.