The Pink Sox introduced Monday that they’ve designated left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez for project and chosen the contract of righty Brad Keller from Triple-A Worcester in his place.
Rodriguez was chosen to the 40-man roster himself on Friday, and the Sox used him closely over the weekend. The 32-year-old southpaw pitched in three straight video games from Friday by means of Sunday, logging 2 2/3 innings and permitting a run on 4 hits and no walks with one strikeout. Rodriguez was certainly unavailable at present for what’s successfully a doubleheader — the Sox will end their suspended recreation in opposition to the Blue Jays after which play a second recreation versus the Jays this night — and will likely be jettisoned from the roster for a contemporary arm in Keller.
This weekend’s stretch of three strong appearances from Rodriguez helped to pare down a tough earned run common that now sits at a still-unsightly 5.93 on the season — albeit in simply 13 2/3 innings. Rodriguez’s under-the-hood numbers are far, much better. He’s fanned a below-average 18.8% of his opponents but in addition sports activities a pristine 3.1% stroll charge and an enormous 59.2% ground-ball charge on this season’s 14 appearances. Metrics like xFIP (3.07) and SIERA (2.87) are way more bullish on his efficiency than his ERA.
That’s nothing new for Rodriguez, who sports activities a roughly common 22.5% strikeout charge in his profession, a higher-than-average 10% stroll charge and a terrific 56% ground-ball charge. In 170 2/3 innings, he’s posted a 4.80 ERA, however his respectable means to overlook bats and large ground-ball tendencies have lengthy led ERA options to forecast higher bottom-line outcomes. Rodriguez has at instances had success within the majors, however his whiffs and grounders have been undercut by persistent struggles with males on base; his profession 64% strand charge is about eight share factors worse than common.
Now that Rodriguez has been designated for project, he’ll be positioned on waivers and made obtainable to the opposite 29 golf equipment. A brand new crew would owe him a prorated $2MM base wage for any time spent on the large league roster or injured checklist (about $344K for the rest of the season). If he goes unclaimed, he can reject his outright project, turn into a free agent, and hope to latch on with a brand new membership as a depth possibility previous to the Aug. 31 postseason eligibility deadline.
Right now’s transfer is a swap of 1 veteran for one more. Keller will rejoin the crew after being beforehand designated for project himself, electing free company, and returning on a minor league deal. He’s appeared in 15 video games for Boston this season and pitched 37 2/3 innings of 5.30 ERA ball with a 17.8% strikeout charge, 7.7% stroll charge and 49.3% ground-ball charge. He’s been working primarily as a starter in Worcester and is stretched out for lengthy reduction if wanted. In 30 innings with the WooSox this season, Keller has a 3.00 ERA.
Keller is in his first season with the Pink Sox group however spent six years as a fixture on the Royals’ pitching workers. From 2018-20, he was an everyday within the rotation and a gradual supply of high quality innings. His outcomes dipped in 2021, and by 2023 his command had deteriorated to the purpose the place he walked a surprising 45 batters in 45 1/3 innings. Keller finally hit the injured checklist and was identified with thoracic outlet syndrome, which required season-ending surgical procedure. He’s but to rediscover his 2018-20 kind (360 1/3 innings, 3.50 ERA, 16.8% strikeout charge, 9.1% stroll charge, 52.1% grounder charge), however he’s nonetheless comparatively younger at 29 and has been excellent within the minors lately. Over his previous 22 innings in Triple-A, Keller sports activities a 0.82 ERA and 15-to-1 Okay/BB ratio.
