Eduardo Rodriguez and the Tigers made his signing official Tuesday, his inking of a five-year, $77 million deal putting a close to the lefthander’s time with the Red Sox.
Rodriguez, 28, went to his Instagram Tuesday after the deal was made final to reflect on his time with the Sox.
“After 7 year with the organization that gave me the opportunity that changed me and my family life after all the ups and downs, I wanna say thank you, Red Sox, for believing in me,” Rodriguez said. “For all the good memories together and especially that World Series ring. To all my teammates that I had the opportunity to play in the same uniform with , thank you all.”
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Rodriguez signed with the Orioles in 2010 and was traded to the Sox in 2014 in exchange for Andrew Miller. At that point, Rodriguez had the talent on the mound, but had yet to really tap into it, lacking a consistent work ethic. But when he reached the Sox, he was surrounded by veteran pitchers, namely Rick Porcello, David Price, and Chris Sale, who held him accountable.
Rodriguez wasn’t consistent during his first four seasons with the Sox, and never made as many as 25 starts in any of them. Yet there were glimpses of what he could be, including that championship year in 2018 when Rodriguez compiled a 3.82 ERA in 27 appearances, striking out 146 batters in 129⅔ innings of work.
When he returned to the rotation in 2019, Rodriguez had a renewed focus.
Both Price and Sale ended up on the injured list that year. Porcello had a forgettable season, leaving Rodriguez as the linchpin to the rotation. He respondedwith career-best numbers. He made 34 starts in 203⅓ innings with a 3.81 ERA.
He missed all of 2020 following a bout with COVID-19 and related myocarditis. He had an underwhelming year in 2021, starting 31 games but registering a career-worst 4.74 ERA. The Red Sox extended Rodriguez a qualifying offer of $18.4 million, but it wasn’t enough to keep him away from the guaranteed money in front of him and his new beginning with the Tigers.
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“To the fans in Boston, thank you so much for all the support all these years,” Rodriguez continued via his Instagram. You always will have a part of my heart from me and my family. Thank you so much with all the love.”
Julian McWilliams can be reached at julian.mcwilliams@globe.com. Follow him @byJulianMack.