Last January, the Blue Jays shocked the baseball world by signing Cuban right-hander Yariel Rodríguez to a four-year contract in the hopes of him being a rotational anchor for years to come.
Now, a little more than a year later, the Blue Jays once again shocked the baseball world by signing Max Scherzer to a one-year contract in the hopes of squeezing a little more magic out of the 40-year-old’s arm. While the move for Scherzer shows that the Blue Jays are pushing all their chips to the center of the table, it also could change the tenor of Rodriguez’s season.
Like most of the Blue Jays roster, Rodríguez had a disappointing 2024 season, as he finished the year with a 4.47 ERA in 21 starts across 86 2/3 innings. He started the season strong (4.11 ERA across four April starts) but ended up missing nearly two months with a back injury, which could have been due to the fact that he saw little to no game action in 2023 as he prepared to join MLB.
He showed a glimpse of his potential across a two-start span in July (he allowed one run in 12 1/3 innings across starts against the Astros and Mariners), but limped across the finish line (4.70 ERA in August and September).
Yariel Rodriguez, Nasty Splitters. ✌️✌️ pic.twitter.com/dfJbbmAdh0
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 20, 2024
Max Scherzer signing takes pressure off Blue Jays' Yariel Rodríguez
But now with the signing of Scherzer, Rodríguez could move to the bullpen; a move that could end up being a boon to the Blue Jays.
While Rodríguez worked solely out of the rotation last year, he made a name for himself internationally as a reliever, as he posted a 1.15 ERA in 54 2/3 innings for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball — a performance that could serve as harbinger of his success in 2025.
Even if he’s not the only projected back-end starter to be impacted by this deal (our Baron Dionis has more on that), his history of success in the bullpen means that he could have an easier shift to the 'pen than some of the team's other starting pitching options.
While he’s a five-pitch pitcher, Rodriguez could easily tighten his arsenal to two or three pitches (batters hit .213 and .167, respectively, against his sinker and slider last year), and he’d also be able to give a little more on his pitches (his fastball velocity was 93.9 mph in 2024 after it was reportedly 100 mph in Japan in 2022).
That, coupled with his strong splits in the number of times he faced an opponent (hitters only hit. .201 in their first plate appearance against him last season) all seem to point toward him having a successful transition to the Blue Jays' bullpen.
And if that wasn't enough, Rodriguez’s contract could also come into play when considering his place on the MLB roster. Per reporting from Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, Rodriguez can’t be sent down to the minors without his approval, so keeping him in the ‘pen might be the best way for the Blue Jays to find a place for him in MLB.
But no matter what Toronto chooses, it’s clear that pitching is now a position of depth for the Blue Jays as they lead into spring training. We’ll see if it’ll end up being enough to keep pace in the loaded American League East.