The boys of summer are back and ready to get to work at Fenway South. Red Sox ace Chris Sale has already noticed an increased motivation from Eduardo Rodriguez.
The Red Sox have been in Fort Myers for two days now and it’s like the season never ended. From everything coming out of Spring Training all of the guys seem anxious and excited to get back to work. Lefty ace Chris Sale sat down with the media recently and was pretty open about the team and baseball in general.
Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald was able to get the quote from Sale while covering the Red Sox Spring Training. He also expands on Sale’s words as it gives a glimpse that E-Rod isn’t just in better shape but that he’s been working on some new toys for his arsenal.
More Eduardo Rodriguez hype, via Sale: "I think you can expect some pretty awesome things out of Eddie this year...You can tell he’s had some drive this offseason. He looks better, his stuff’s coming out really well, he’s working on a new pitch as well and it looks really good."
— Jason Mastrodonato (@JMastrodonato) February 13, 2019
One of the points he made was to bring up how great Eduardo Rodriguez looks coming into camp. Now, this isn’t the first we’ve heard about E-Rod so far this preseason as manager Alex Cora also sang his praises. This comes as great news to Red Sox Nation as for years we’ve heard about the promise and potential of E-Rod but have yet to truly see it.
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Rodriguez has shown glimpses of what he can do and what he’s capable of but he’s also still young and shows that at times. Remember the glove throwing incident in the playoffs? But with both Cora and Sale coming out on the behalf of Rodriguez so early into Spring Training, I have the faith.
Rodriguez is an anchor for the current Red Sox rotation and pending possible future deals, he may see his role increase after this season. With Both Sale and Rick Porcello being free agents after 2019, a strong season could see E-Rod climb the pitching ranks.
In 2018, Rodriguez posted a 13-5 record over 129.2 IP. He also tallied 146 strikeouts to only 45 walks. That’s an impressive 3.24 K/BB ratio. Per Baseball Reference he is projected to finish 9-6 over 135 IP and retain a similar 146/48 K/BB ratio.
Boston will see their full rotation returning for 2019 and from what’s come out of Fenway South so far, everyone is at full health. With the way the rotation is projected for the season, it appears Rodriguez will most likely be the fifth starter. Where most rotations tend to lighten up as they progress, the Red Sox have built a unit that doesn’t give a team a break. If you think you’re going to get an off night, you’re sadly mistaken.
With the Red Sox looking to repeat as World Champions in 2019, Rodriguez will be a major part of the plan. With what seems to be a new drive and kicking it into a new gear for the upcoming season, I think that isn’t a stretch. We’ve all heard about what Eduardo Rodriguez can be and I think in 2019 he will show us everyone was right. This season can definitely be a breakout year for Eduardo, and I can’t wait.