E-Rod scratched from Opening Day
Eovaldi gets ball Thursday vs. O’s
For a second consecutive year, Eduardo Rodriguez has hit a roadblock that will keep him from being the Red Sox’ Opening Day starter.
Rodriguez will not take the mound Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles as the southpaw deals with what manager Alex Cora described as a “dead arm.”
Rodriguez did not look sharp on Monday as he pitched only two innings before finishing up his work in the bullpen. Cora said that the lefty had to miss a bullpen session on Wednesday, and the way the schedule was going, they decided it was smart to push the ace’s first start of the regular season back.
Cora said the decision has nothing to do with the myocarditis that kept Rodriguez out last season. Nathan Eovaldi will take his place as the Opening Day starter for a second consecutive season.
“I think that it’s just dead arm,” Cora said. “He didn’t feel as strong as the previous outings arm-wise — shoulder, arm. There’s nothing specific there, but it’s one of those that, if he wants it. He’s pushing. He pushed hard for Thursday. But I think the smart thing from my end and from our end is to play it smart, take the decision away from the player. We made the decision for him.”
The Red Sox were waiting to see how Rodriguez reacted Friday after playing catch on Thursday, but Cora said he felt good after. Cora said they wanted to
get ahead of possibly having to put Rodriguez on the injured list to start the season. Even though the setback isn’t related to the myocarditis, the Red Sox are obviously being very careful with Rodriguez.
Rodriguez will throw a bullpen session today, which will go a long way into determining his status going forward.
“The thing about this is it’s opening weekend,” Cora said. “That’s why it’s such a big deal, because it’s opening weekend. But if this happens during the season, it’s not a big deal. You skip one guy, move another one, and then make a decision based on your schedule, where they’re at. But now, because everything was so structured up until now, now we have to scrap it a little bit. We’ll have more news in the upcoming days.”
Though it seems like it should be a minor issue, it’s another tough break for Rodriguez.
After a breakthrough 2019, the lefty was in line to be the Red Sox’ Opening Day starter in 2020 after Chris Sale needed Tommy John surgery. But then he tested positive for COVID-19, and the myocarditis wiped out his entire year.
Rodriguez looked strong in his first three starts of the spring, and Cora named him the Opening Day starter on March 17, a de
serving nod after not only all he went through, but how good he looked. But then came this week’s setback.
“It sucks for him because going into ’20, he was supposed to be the Opening Day starter,” Cora said. “Going into ’21, we announced it and now he’s not. But like I told him yesterday, ‘Hey, man — the way you’re throwing the ball, the way your career is going, at one point in your career, you will be an Opening Day starter, and maybe more than once.’ He took it as a profession
al. As you guys know, with him, the communication is very clear. It’s very genuine. For him to accept it and think about the future and not the first game of the season is a testament to who he is right now as a pitcher, as a person, and as a leader on this team.”
Whitlock makes cut
Cora has been enamored with new pitcher Garrett Whitlock since the first day of spring training, and on Thursday, he was happy to tell him that he
would make the Opening Day roster.
The Red Sox took Whitlock from the Yankees in December’s Rule 5 draft, and the 24-year-old right-hander has impressed with a strong camp. In four appearances this spring, Whitlock has pitched nine innings, given up one earned run and struck out 12.
Cora wasn’t surprised that Whitlock, who missed all of 2020 after having Tommy John surgery in 2019, made the roster as a Rule 5 pick.
“You can be a Rule 5 or a 10year vet, but the way he threw the ball, you guys saw it,” Cora said. “He’s getting better and better. It’s one of those, as a manager, president of baseball operations, GM, whatever — it’s a great moment when you tell somebody that you’re going to be a big leaguer. And his reaction was priceless. It’s all about him. The organization did their homework, and we decided to draft him. From there on, it was up to him. He did everything possible to make the team, and I know he’s not going to stop. Try to keep getting better, studying the game, doing all the right things for him to get to the next level.”
Franchy makes progress
Franchy Cordero played six innings in left field and went 1for-3 with a triple at the plate in Friday’s 7-3 loss to the Rays, the next step in determining if the outfielder will make next week’s Opening Day roster. Cora will see how he feels today, but he sounded encouraged.
“It seems like he’ll be OK,” Cora said.
“You saw him running the bases today, he hit that ball to center field, moved around well in the outfield. It’s just about now how he’s going to feel (Saturday). It was a tough day today. Hot and it was a slow-paced game. For him to get his reps was good, but (Saturday) we’ll know more. But it seems like he’s doing well, he’s doing well.”