Eduardo Rodríguez has been away from the Tigers for nearly a month, as the club placed the starter on the restricted list on June 13. Detroit announced at the time he was attending to personal matters, which Jon Heyman of the New York Post subsequently reported was a marital concern. There was no timetable for his return at the time, and it seemingly remains up in the air when he’ll be back with the club.
Speaking with reporters this afternoon, Detroit general manager Al Avila stated the team hasn’t heard from Rodríguez recently (link via Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic). “We reached out, but obviously he hasn’t reached out back. We’re just kind of waiting it out,” Avila said. “It is unusual, but we have no choice but to wait it out right now and see how it develops as we move forward.”
Manager A.J. Hinch offered a similar report last week. “From what I know, there’s been no movement whatsoever and no communication,” Hinch said at the time. “We know he’s safe, we know he’s home with his kids, we know he’s back in Florida, but it’s been pretty quiet.”
As part of an aggressive offseason, the Tigers added Rodríguez on a five-year, $77MM free agent contract last November. The deal also affords the southpaw an opportunity to opt-out following the 2023 campaign. He made eight starts over the season’s first couple months, working to a 4.38 ERA through 39 innings. Rodríguez landed on the injured list on May 22 with a ribcage strain; he’d been on a minor league rehab assignment working his way back from the injury at the time he stepped away from the club.
Players on the restricted list are not paid, so Rodríguez is forfeiting salary for any time he spends away from the team. Avila declined to answer when asked if the Tigers would look into the possibility of attempting to void his contract entirely. “I’m not going to get into that at this point. Obviously that’s a situation, it’s a private situation right now on his part. I won’t get into that.“
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