Detroit Tigers: Airing out some frustrations with Eduardo Rodriguez

Detroit Tigers situation with Eduardo Rodriguez is frustrating.

The Detroit Tigers signed Eduardo Rodriguez to a five-year contract worth $77 million during the Al Avila era. However, he did not quite make it all five years with the Tigers organization after selecting his opt-out to hit the free agent market this off-season.

The Detroit Tigers got two years out of Rodriguez, and in 2023, he was absolutely exceptional in the rotation. The left-hander was able to string together great starts for Detroit this summer. Through 26 starts, Rodriguez tallied 152.2 innings pitched. He managed a 3.30 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and has 48 walks with 143 strikeouts.

Rodriguez was doing well last summer around the trade deadline, which turned into a frustrating situation in itself. The Tigers reportedly had a deal lined up to move Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Dodgers before the trade deadline came and went.

Due to Rodriguez having a no-trade clause in his deal, he was able to veto the trade and keep himself with the Tigers organization in Detroit. While Rodriguez had this in his contract due to Avila and the negotiations before this regime, it's still frustrating to miss out on a deal like that.

Rodriguez made it seem that location was an issue. Moreover that, his family did not want to start a cross-country move mid-season to Los Angeles, with the possibility of moving after the season. I get it with family involved; it has to be tough, but missing out on the deal had to be tough.

But, on top of that, this is not the only time that the Tigers have had issues with Rodriguez. He has been MIA from the team in the spring before and has had absences from the team. He was dealing with family matters and missed time in the past multiple times .

For Detroit, it has to be extremely frustrating to have Rodriguez do this, veto a trade, and then hit the open market. I know there are Tigers fans out there who wanted to keep Rodriguez in town and wanted him to stay in Detroit, finishing out the last three years of his deal.

But the nail in the coffin came from a tweet laid out by Jon Morosi. Even if it was because of an in-season move, geographical restrictions were a problem, but now, it's a different tune.

Even more beyond geographical restrictions, it has to be frustrating to see the Dodgers mentioned. The Dodgers were the supposed trade deadline suitor, and now they can pursue him on the market for free.

It just has to be frustrating for the Tigers to see how this all unfolded. Detroit lost out on Rodriguez, getting nothing via the trade market, and they were not able to lock him down for his last three years. It's a frustrating situation, even if the Tigers are renegotiating with him.