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Yariel Rodríguez threw three scoreless innings in his latest rehab appearance
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Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Jun 5, 2024, 21:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 5, 2024, 21:39 EDT
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The Blue Jays’ pitchers are starting to get healthy.
Recently, Chad Green and Bowden Francis were reactivated from the Injured List, while Alek Manoah was placed on the 15-day Injured List. Well, it appears that starter/bulk pitcher Yariel Rodríguez is making a comeback as well.
On Wednesday evening, the 27-year-old Cuban right-handed pitcher made his fourth rehab appearance since being sent down to Buffalo. Coming out of the bullpen, Rodríguez finished with a line of 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K throwing 43 total pitches, 29 of which were for strikes. This brought his season ERA in Triple-A to 0.68.
Diving deeper into the stats, his fastball averaged 94.3 mph, 0.8 mph less than his season average with the Blue Jays. Moreover, he topped out at 95.4 mph while generating two whiffs on six total swings. 
His highest whiff percentage came from his slider, which generated three swings and misses on six total swings. RodrIguez also utilized his curveball 10 times, the splitter four times, and the sinker twice, generating a whiff on two total swings.
The big question surrounding Rodríguez and the Blue Jays is what they’re going to do with the fifth spot in the rotation. It looked as if Alek Manoah earned back his spot that he had in 2022, as he had a 3.70 ERA and a 5.15 FIP in 24.1 innings pitched, but an elbow injury landed him on the sideline.
Toronto turned to relief pitcher Trevor Richards to start the game on Tuesday and he did a good job, striking out four in two innings pitched. However, long-man Bowden Francis had a rough outing, giving up four earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched, elevating his season ERA to 9.
The bullpen has also been struggling this season, but with Rodríguez on the path to returning, it’ll get just a little bit stronger soon enough.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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