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Tigers Claim Nivaldo Rodriguez From Astros

By Anthony Franco | August 2, 2021 at 12:47pm CDT

The Tigers announced they’ve claimed right-hander Nivaldo Rodríguez off waivers from the Astros and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. Houston designated Rodríguez for assignment over the weekend. Detroit had a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move was necessary.

Rodríguez has made nine appearances totaling sixteen innings of relief at the big league level over the past two seasons. He’s allowed nine runs over that span, giving up nineteen hits (including five homers) and issuing ten walks while striking out eleven. Rodríguez has spent more time with Triple-A Sugar Land this year, tossing 27 1/3 innings of 5.93 ERA ball with worse than average strikeout and walk rates (19.5% and 12.5%, respectively).

Nevertheless, it’s a sensible enough decision for the Tigers to take a no-risk flier on the 24-year-old. Rodríguez has worked exclusively in relief to this point in the big leagues, but he’s generally served as a starting pitcher in the minors. He’s shown a five-pitch mix (four-seam, sinker, slider, changeup, curveball) in his limited MLB time, so it’s not outlandish to think he could stick as high minors rotation depth.

Entering the season, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs called Rodríguez a likely fifth starter or long relief type, slotting him 17th among prospects in the Astros system. Rodríguez still has one minor league option year remaining beyond this season, so he can move freely between Detroit and Toledo through the end of 2022 if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

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View Comments (7)
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7 Comments

  1. The Baseball Fan

    4 years ago

    News of the day

    1
    Reply
    • miggy4prez

      4 years ago

      LFG

      Reply
  2. hd-electraglide

    4 years ago

    On the Road Again

    Reply
  3. For Love of the Game

    4 years ago

    Ugly numbers, especially the HRs. But, the Tigers have the 40-man spot available and can always release him if they can’t fix his issues before the end of the season.

    Reply
  4. DarkSide830

    4 years ago

    nice pickup

    Reply
  5. TroyVan

    4 years ago

    Tigers scouts obviously see something….

    Reply
  6. Mark Fichtel

    4 years ago

    Underrated move. I’m sure Hinch saw something in the kid when he was at Houston, and advised Al to claim him.

    2
    Reply

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