Red Sox: Eduardo Rodriguez is now one of the teams most integral players

Following an exceptional individual 2019, Eduardo Rodriguez will now become one of the Boston Red Sox’s key players on the dawn of a new era.

Back in March, Red Sox lefty, Eduardo Rodriguez was tipped by a couple of us here at BoSox Injection to have a breakout season in 2019. I think it’s fair to say that he did just that. For Red Sox fans, this past season may have been one to forget, especially as it was a title defense year, however, there were still a number of things to be proud of from this team.

E-Rod’s individual efforts were amongst these. As Rodriguez’s contract enters its fourth year of arbitration for the coming season, he’ll continue to be an important player in this potential-new look Red Sox side.

The 26-year-old pitcher played in his fifth MLB season in 2019, and it was the best one yet. Finishing just one win shy of the twenty-win mark at 19-6, E-Rod definitely had a year to remember. For a player who’s struggled with numerous injuries over the years, it was fantastic to see the lefty experience an injury-free season.

This ultimately led to him leading the entire major league with 34 games started from the mound. Although the Sox had a sluggish year, as a whole, E-Rod was able to capitalize on his time at the mound. He helped the Red Sox’s cause to get wins as he finished the season with a 6.0 WAR, ranking 6th among all MLB pitchers.

Rodriguez stepped up at a time the Sox really needed him. Without an in-form E-Rod, 2019 could’ve got really out of hand for Boston. With injuries, resulting in extended time out for ace Chris Sale and 2018 postseason hero David Price, there was a lot of filling in to be done for Red Sox pitchers.

Rodriguez’s ability to keep his performance up, and, ultimately, become this rotation’s ace was key from the off up until the stretch. Eduardo finished the year with a 3.81 ERA, which was only a single point below his 2018 figure. However, we saw some stuff that hasn’t been as effective as it has in years prior.

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His continuity and the fact that he broke his single-season record of major league starts by ten makes this all the more impressive. He’s shown that he can carry forward into the rest of his career from now on.

With so much changing for the Red Sox, from Dave Dombrowski’s departure to many decisions the front office has to make in regards to star players’ contracts. It’s important that the Sox keep a strong core of players who’re able to help this team move forward in the event that said star players do move on.

E-Rod is certainly one of these guys. With Sale and Price coming back, the rotation will appear to be one of Boston’s stronger points. And if E-Rod can keep this up, they’ll be more than capable on the starting pitching side of things.

It’s going to be a very interesting offseason for this side and it’ll be fascinating, whilst nerve-racking to see what the front office does. Whatever happens, there’s plenty of talent staying in Boston for next year, including Eduardo Rodriguez, who can hopefully be in his 2019 form for years to come. If this season taught us anything it’s that the Red Sox can rely on the arm of Rodriguez to deliver them success.