Reliever, trying to work his way back into Blue Jays' bullpen, has strong WBC outing

Yariel Rodríguez has looked downright ugly on the mound in his pair of Spring Training appearances this year (37.80 ERA), but the Toronto Blue Jays right-hander isn't a lost cause quite yet. In fact, he's been enthralling for Team Cubs in this year's World Baseball Classic, pitching 4.1 scoreless innings over a pair of outings while allowing just one hit and six strikeouts.

One of the team's more notable non-roster invitees to camp this year, Rodriguez has a ways to go before he convinces the front office to place him back on the 40-man roster. But with Team Cuba one win away from advancing out of pool play in part to his heroics, the path back to Toronto is starting to look a little clearer.

Yariel Rodriguez making strong case for Blue Jays' 40-man roster in World Baseball Classic

In 2023, Rodriguez made two starts for Cuba at the Classic, posting a 2.45 ERA with 10 strikeouts and six walks over 7.1 innings. He signed with the Blue Jays later that year on a five-year, $32 million contract, with the hope being that he'd serve as a swingman for a retooled pitching staff.

He more or less delivered on that premise, nailing down a 3.83 ERA (4.37 FIP) over 87 games, including 22 starts (21 of which came in 2024). He made the team's ALDS and ALCS roster in 2025, but a 10.13 ERA through four appearances kept him off the World Series team. This past offseason, the Blue Jays DFA'd him, ultimately retaining the 29-year-old on a non-roster invite after he cleared waivers.

He's a classic case of the peripherals not matching the surface-level results. His middling 22.7% strikeout rate simply doesn't pass the smell test when compared to his 11.1% walk rate, and he struggled to generate ground balls and chases from opposing hitters last year. Rodriguez is a respectable contact manager, but his underlying production hardly matches the contract he received in free agency.

This stretch in the WBC is certainly helping his case for another chance with the big-league club, but the Blue Jays' pitching depth is a difficult hurdle to overcome. The team has so many rotation options that at least a couple of starters will end up in the bullpen, and it doesn't help Rodriguez out when the front office continues to add talented relievers to the spring training mix.

Rodriguez will almost certainly begin the year in Triple-A Buffalo, barring a historic finish to the WBC or Spring Training. Still, his work for Team Cuba has kept him on the Blue Jays' radar, which is a big win for someone the team outrighted just a few months ago.