Red Sox News: Alex Cora on Eduardo Rodriguez, “He’s a full-go”

Red Sox skipper Alex Cora is ready to unleash Eduardo Rodriguez

Today was the official first day of spring training as pitchers and catchers arrived yesterday and passed their physicals. For the Red Sox, this part of spring training very well could set the tone for 2021 as their pitching staff will need to rebound big this year. There are a lot of questions surrounds some of the arms on the roster but Alex Cora made sure to let everyone know that they didn’t need to worry about Eduardo Rodriguez.

Boston’s big lefty missed the entirety of the 2020 season due to COVID and a case of myocarditis stemming from the virus. It wasn’t just that he missed the year but he also wasn’t able to do any physical activity until the fall. Fast-forward to today and it looks like the southpaw hasn’t missed a single pitch in the last year. During his press conference today, Cora was asked about several topics, including E-Rod, and the skipper had nothing but positive things to say.

"“He’s a full-go,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said about Rodriguez during a Zoom press conference Thursday. “He’s in a good spirit. He looks in great shape. He worked hard during the offseason to get to this point. Very excited to have a full season with Eddie and see what he can do.”"

To hear that Eddie is in the shape that he is despite the issues he had to work through in 2020 is a great sign. We also found out today that Chris Sale was progressing in his recovery but not enough to return anytime soon and was placed on the 60-day IL. If Boston isn’t going to have their chief ace returning in the near future, they’ll need Rodriguez to be the foundation for this starting rotation.

Cora would talk about the glimpses of greatness that E-Rod showed during his 2018 and 2019 runs before missing last year. The other day I actually penned Eduardo as my 2021 Comeback Player of the Year and getting this reassurance from AC only fuels that belief. The lefty is going to be heading into the season as the likely Opening Day starter, though that could get shuffled to take some pressure off of his return.

Personally, if he has a strong spring training then I want him on the bump for Opening Day. It was a spot that he earned heading into this past season but had to bow out. As good as Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez were for the Red Sox, Eddie is the man at the top, at least until Sale returns, but possibly even after as well.

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The boss would expand a bit on his plan for E-Rod and made it clear that his health is the team’s biggest concern but it won’t hinder his workload. Cora was ridiculed for his treatment of the starters during the spring of 2019 as he gave them an extended break and a slow start. That plan led to several sluggish starts and plenty of injuries as the guys just weren’t ready. From the sounds of things this year he’ll have his hurlers up and running and ready for the regular season.

"“We have to be careful in the way we treat him,” Cora Added. “But he’s a full-go. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to put restrictions on him. We’ll take care of him but I know he feels great where he’s at right now.”"

If the Red Sox want to contend in 2021, and it sure seems like that’s the goal, they’ll need E-Rod fully healthy and firing on all cylinders. From all reports, the health portion of that equation won’t be an issue. The lefty has been tossing for a while now but having him back in a structured camp with regular workouts will really give us an insight into where he’s at right now. Either way, seeing him back in uniform and knowing the handcuffs are off has me ready to see E-Rod do the damn thing.