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Blue Jays 40-man Roster Review: Yariel Rodríguez had an solid rookie season
Yariel Rodriguez
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Jan 14, 2025, 20:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 14, 2025, 12:40 EST
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Yariel Rodríguez’s first season in the big leagues was solid.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man Roster Review, where we look at the players on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster. We’ll look at how the player performed in 2024, his season projections for the 2025 season, and any storylines heading into this coming season. In this article, we’ll look at Yariel Rodríguez.
Before signing with the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2023-24 off-season, Rodríguez had spent three seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, where he had a 3.03 ERA in 175.1 innings pitched. The 27-year-old also had a lengthy career pitching in Cuba from 2015-16 until 2019.
After pitching for Cuba in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Rodríguez didn’t pitch in 2023 before signing with the Jays. In his first season with the Blue Jays, the right-handed pitcher had a 4.47 ERA and a 4.34 FIP in 86.2 innings pitched, with a 23.1 K% and a 10.9 BB%. All 21 of his appearances were starts as he filled in the back end of the rotation.
The highlight of Rodríguez season was a two-game stretch in early July. On Jul. 1, he pitched a career-high 6.2 innings pitched, allowing one earned run, two hits, and striking out six against the Houston Astros. In the following game, he went another six innings, giving up one hit and not allowing a run while he struck out six.
From Jun. 26 until Aug. 10, Rodríguez had a 2.36 ERA and a 3.37 FIP in 34.1 innings pitched with a 25.5 K% and a 10.9 BB%. This is a taste of Rodríguez at his best. Unfortunately, Fangraphs’ Steamer doesn’t see him having that type of success over an entire season, giving him a 4.08 ERA and a 4.14 FIP in 124 innings pitched, with 18 starts in 50 appearances. Overall, this season would be better than what Rodríguez was able to produce in 2024.
The storyline around Rodríguez is what his role will be in 2025. As of right now, it’s safe to pencil the 27-year-old as the fifth starter in the rotation, but things can change. As of Jan. 14, the Blue Jays are seen as finalists for Rōki Sasaki. If they’re somehow able to land him, they’d be able to place Rodríguez in the bullpen where he’d pitch as a long-man. Essentially, they’d kill two birds with one stone, as they’d also get an ace for their rotation.
Either way, it’ll be exciting to see how Rodríguez performs in his second season in the big leagues.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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