Dave Roberts: Eduardo Rodriguez’s decision to decline trade was ‘surprising’
The Los Angeles Dodgers attempted to make a massive move at the deadline to help bolster their starting rotation. The Dodgers reportedly had a deal in place to add Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, but the lefty invoked his no-trade clause to remain in Detroit.
The move was a surprise to many. It is not hard to imagine why a player would prefer to play in Los Angeles than Detroit. The Dodgers currently sit atop the NL West and are looking to make a World Series push while the Tigers remain far out of playoff contention.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was one of the many people that were surprised by Eduardo Rodriguez’s decision. Roberts expressed his opinion in an interview with ESPN.
“To have a chance to come to a team with guys that he’s familiar with, on a team that’s playing for a championship, it’s surprising,” Roberts told reporters Tuesday, per ESPN.
The Dodgers do have quite a few players that Rodriguez has played with in the past. This mostly consists of former Red Sox like Mookie Betts, Kiké Hernandez, who the Dodgers just traded for, J.D. Martinez and others.
At the end of the day, Rodriguez’s decision to invoke his no-trade clause has nothing to do with baseball. The lefty wanted to stay closer to the East Coast to remain close to his family.
Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman wanted to see Rodriguez in Dodger blue but acknowledged that is hard to dispute family reasons.
“We never got a chance to talk to Eduardo (Rodriguez). But we talked to his agent numerous times” he said. “We respect that he had this right and he exercised it. Obviously would’ve loved for him to join what we have going here. But it’s hard for us to argue with family reasons.”
Rodriguez would have been a welcomed addition to a struggling Los Angeles rotation. A big move to add another arm would have gone a long way in the fall. Instead, the Los Angeles Dodgers will have to settle with Lance Lynn being their headline addition of the trade deadline.
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