Scott Harris has some time, and for now that’s a relief. He doesn’t have to spoil the fun just yet.
Not as Eduardo Rodriguez just put together the best starting pitcher streak for the Detroit Tigers in years. Not as he blanked the Guardians Wednesday night with another dominant — and artful — performance.
If he keeps this up then yeah, Harris will have to decide sooner rather than later. But, for now, the Tigers’ new president of baseball operations can breathe and watch his team pound the strike zone, run down balls in the gaps, and get the outs when they need ’em.
Oh, and climb the standings, though as Harris told MLB Network recently, he and his team aren’t worried about that.
They are focused on themselves, which is what you tell yourself after a surprising run of success, and you’re still a couple games under .500, and though the buzz is nice — see: MLB Network interviews — there is a plan, and this is a rebuild and that’s the space in which he’ll remain.
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It’s the space, too, that’ll sway his strategy on Rodriguez, the 30-year-old who has been a solid pitcher but suddenly looks like an ace. And because of that, and because of his opt-out clause that kicks in after the season — Rodriguez has three years remaining if he opts in — Harris may be forced to renegotiate his contract or trade him.
As it stands, the Tigers will owe Rodriguez $18 million in 2024, $16 million in 2025 and $15 million in 2025. That would be a steal for a pitcher throwing like Rodriguez, which is why he will almost certainly opt out if the Tigers don’t re-up or trade him.
The going rate for a pitcher who keeps tossing shutout innings is probably double what the Tigers are paying Rodriguez now. What could help keep the price down — a little — is that he doesn’t have a career track record of pitching like this.
But if he’s still doing this a month from now? Two months from now? As the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaches?
That’ll give him more leverage. Even if this happens, it doesn’t mean he’s gone. It’ll just up the price.
Harris told the MLB Network that Rodriguez has been really important for the club’s mostly young pitching staff. During a rebuild, that’s critical. Think Kenny Rogers in 2006, when he showed the way to Justin Verlander, Joel Zumaya and Co.
That team had more all-around talent than this one, and when Al Avila, the Tigers’ former GM, signed Rodriguez to a five-year deal last season, he had to have been thinking about him in a similar role. In fact, he told reporters before spring training broke that the expectation was to make the playoffs.
The team struggled. Rodriguez missed a couple of months of the season for personal reasons. When he did pitch, he looked nothing like he does now.
Oh, he did in manner and velocity; his speed and repertoire are similar, and he still relies on a mix of a cut fastball and changeup, as he did a year ago.
But his command just got a little better. His cutter cuts more. His confidence, while always fine, shot up and now allows him to relax on the mound in a way he never has.
He has always tried to paint the edge of the strike zone and he still does this. He just doesn’t throw as many mistakes.
In other words, he is pitching like the pitcher Avila hoped he was signing. In fact, Rodriguez now looks like Avila’s parting gift, not named Spencer Torkelson or Riley Greene.
Too bad he gave him an opt-out clause. Then again, Avila probably can’t sign Rodriguez without it. The pitcher wanted protection in case he had a great season, or in case he didn’t like playing for the Tigers for some reason.
If Harris can find a way to keep Rodriguez, he could still fill the Rogers role on a team few saw coming, especially with a few young pitchers set to return from injury later this summer or early next year. That has value, too.
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The question is one of timing. If Harris is convinced his rebuild needs another two seasons after this one, then sure, trade Rodriguez before the deadline and see what you can get.
But if the GM thinks he’s onto something, that his collection of young, defensive-minded players could be ahead of schedule, and if his boss, Chris Ilitch, agrees to spend a little — he wouldn’t have to spend much more than he does now on payroll considering Miguel Cabrera’s contract will come off the books — then a run at keeping Rodriguez makes sense.
And could line up perfectly fine with the timeline.
He is only 30, after all.
And though it’s not generally wise to spend nine figures on pitchers his age, the league is stuffed with examples of pitchers who age just fine, particularly ones that use deception and command to get outs as opposed to hot heat.
At some point, the Tigers will have to take a chance again. Maybe it’s not with Rodriguez. As mentioned, this is the best he’s ever pitched, and it’s not close, and that’s a small worry.
Most pitchers who make this kind of improvement aren’t his age. Yet most pitchers don’t sign with a new team, leave for personal reasons, settle their life, adjust their day-to-day approach at the ballpark, start the next season, and throw 41⅔ innings of two-run ball.
Two runs!?
Astounding. Also, not sustainable, as is the 0.43 ERA he compiled during those innings (spread over six starts).
This surge isn’t nothing, either. It’s simply a matter of Harris figuring out what Rodriguez would be worth on the open market, hoping there’s a reasonable number that might keep him here, and then taking a gamble, because it’ll be a gamble either way; a trade isn’t a guarantee of anything.
Sure, he could flame out after a reworking of his contract, or drop back to solid-to-good, as he has mostly been. He could also keep some version of this up for another few years. He wouldn’t be the first.
Just the first pitcher to get excited about around here in a while.
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.