The rumours have been swirling for over a week now, but the official word has come down from the Toronto Blue Jays: right-hander Yariel Rodriguez will be pitching for Team Cuba at the World Baseball Classic later this spring.

The expectation is that Rodriguez will pitch out of the bullpen, keeping his innings under two per outing.

Rodriguez is no stranger to the WBC stage, making two starts for the national squad at the 2023 tournament.

Across 7 1/3 innings, Rodriguez allowed just five hits and two earned runs with 10 strikeouts. At the time, Rodriguez was pitching overseas with the Chunichi Dragons in the NPB. He later signed a multi-year deal with the Jays during the 2023/2024 offseason when he was granted free agency by MLB after he didn’t report back to the Dragons after the tournament, citing his desire to play in the big leagues.

Since signing with Toronto, Rodriguez’s time on the mound has been met with its fair share of ups and downs.

He was used out of the rotation for all of 2024, appearing in 21 games and pitching a total of 86 2/3 innings, as the coaching staff did not let him pitch deep into games and missed some action early on in the year. During his rookie campaign, he pitched to a 4.47 ERA and a 4.34 FIP while striking out opponents at an 8.8 K/9 clip. He struggled with his command at times, evidenced by his 4.2 BB/9, and ultimately finished the campaign with a 1.315 WHIP.

This past season, Rodriguez was moved to the bullpen, where he experienced better results. Across 66 appearances, he amassed a 3.08 ERA and a 4.40 FIP, seeing his WHIP drop to 1.151. He saw a slight decrease in his K/9 to 8.1 and kept the same walk rate, but saw a decrease in his H/9 (7.7 in 2024 to 6.2 this past year) and was ultimately seeing improved metrics as a bullpen arm. Rodriguez did start to wear down in August, when he allowed eight earned runs through 9 1/3 innings, but bounced back in September with a 1.74 ERA and just two earned runs across 10 1/3 innings to finish off the season.

Rodriguez also made four appearances during the Jays’ postseason run, two games in the ALDS and two in the ALCS, and after allowing three earned runs against the Mariners’ bats, he was left off the World Series roster. Later on, the Jays outrighted the Cuban product from the 40-man roster, meaning he heads into spring training looking to secure a spot on both the 40-man roster and the Opening Day roster this spring.

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