The Twins are in agreement with Dereck Rodríguez on a minor league contract, according to an announcement from the right-hander’s representative, Gavin Kahn. It’s something of a full-circle moment for Rodríguez, who began his career in the Minnesota system as a sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft.
While Rodríguez spent his first six pro seasons in the Twins organization, he’s yet to pitch in the majors with Minnesota. During his initial run, he topped out at Double-A and elected minor league free agency after the 2017 campaign. He hooked on with the Giants on a minors pact that winter and earned his first big league call the following season after an excellent start in Triple-A. Rodríguez unexpectedly became a key member of the San Francisco rotation, tossing 118 1/3 innings of 2.81 ERA ball as a rookie.
That strong run prevention came without huge strikeout or ground-ball totals, though, and Rodríguez didn’t replicate that success over the following seasons. He posted a 5.64 ERA over 99 frames in 2019, then was limited to just two relief appearances in 2020 before San Francisco designated him for assignment. Claimed off waivers by the Tigers, he spent the rest of the season on optional assignment to Detroit’s alternate training site before being outrighted off the 40-man roster at the end of the year.
Rodríguez signed a minor league pact with the Rockies last offseason. He spent the year with their top affiliate in Albuquerque, pitching to a 6.72 ERA across 85 2/3 innings in an extremely hitter-friendly environment. Now 29 years old, Rodríguez will try to turn the tide and rediscover some of his rookie year success in Minnesota. The Twins starting staff is fairly open beyond Dylan Bundy and Bailey Ober. They’ll surely add to that mix after the lockout, but Rodríguez might have an opportunity to land a back-end role with a strong showing in Spring Training and/or start to the regular season at Triple-A St. Paul.
How far he rose and how quickly he fell since he was last with the Twins. Interesting how guys like him have a great season and just disappear again. Wish DRod the best in making it back to the bigs
Didn’t he come to pitching late in his life ??? Was he a position player with the twins system??
He didn’t switch super-late. He was drafted in 2011 and started pitching in 2014.
Should have signed with Toronto to play with the other Hall of Famers kids
As a giant fan I remember how excited we were during his rookie year
we’re thinking that we might’ve found another Lincecum or Matt Cain..
it all just turned south for some reason
but it was fun to
watch him develop – plus his dad was often in the seats when he was pitching
GET RICH WITH BLANK ATM CARD.
Have you guys heard of blank ATM cards
which can withdraw money from any ATM machines around the world?
I was very poor and have no job. I try getting a loan but it didn’t work
because of my bad credit score. I saw so many testimonies on how they
got the blank ATM card and use it to withdraw cash in any ATM machine
and become rich. I emailed them also and they sent me the ATM card.
I have used it to get 90,000 dollars already within 5 days.
This ATM card can hack and take money directly from any ATM machine
vault because its well programmed and runs in automatic mode. For more information,
kindly contact the card vendor with the below info Email:onlineblankatm24@gmail.com
Or message us on Whatsapp +17605765579
When the Twins drafted this kid, I remember thinking he was going to be a great CF for them in time. Well, he couldn’t really hit at a Major League level. So the Twins utilized his strong arm (thanks, Dad) on the mound for a few years before letting him search for greener pastures elsewhere. It looked like a dream come true when he had some success in 2018.
…
Here’s to hoping that he can find some success in Minnesota this coming year.