Competition among 10 ML teams announced ‘A great contract is visible’
Cuban pitcher Yariel Rodriguez (26), who went into exile in the United States instead of returning to Japan after the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), is expected to achieve his dream of becoming a major leaguer.
According to Trade Rumors on the 4th (Korean time), reporter Francis Romero of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) reported that Rodriguez was officially announced as a free agent by the Major League.
The media said, "Rodriguez has become one of the most interesting options on the pitcher market after his contract with the Junior Dragons of the Japanese professional baseball team was terminated a month ago. He has been showcased to major league clubs for several weeks since then, but has not yet made an official statement with the major league team until today." “Contracting has been banned. Of course, we don’t know if he will sign immediately, but this eliminates the procedural hurdles that need to be resolved.”
Rodriguez has played for Japan's Chunichi Dragons since the 2020 season.
He showed his true worth after his bullpen transformation in 2022. Rodriguez won the Central League reliever award by recording 6 wins, 2 losses, 39 holds, and an ERA of 1.15 in 56 games and 5⅔ innings.
He throws a fastball that travels over 160km/h and throws a variety of pitches, including a slider, curve changeup, splitter, and two-seamer.
After finishing the season, he succeeded in renewing his contract with Chunichi for two years.
Rodriguez's performance led to his selection to the national team. He competed with the Cuban national team at the WBC tournament held last March.
Cuba lost 2-14 in the semifinals to the United States and failed to advance to the finals.
After the tournament ended, Rodriguez could not be seen in Japan. After finishing the competition, Rodriguez decided to leave without permission instead of returning to Japan. He later found out that he had not returned to Japan to seek asylum in the United States.
Ultimately, Junichi terminated his contract, and Rodriguez took an entire season off.
Afterwards, he moved towards his dream of becoming a full-fledged major leaguer. A showcase was held in front of major league clubs. Here, Rodriguez showed good pitching content.
Trade Rumors pointed out, "Rodriguez will turn 27 next March. He is unusually young for a free agent pitcher," and then added, "Major league teams are making different evaluations of Rodriguez's potential to be selected. He is the second-highest level professional in the world. "He is an interesting player who has achieved success in baseball. Ten teams are showing interest: Houston, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, LA Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants." reported.
Reporter John Morosi also included Los Ríguez among the KBO and NPB stars who will soon be seen in the major leagues. He said, "There is a mysterious atmosphere in Rodriguez, who has not appeared in an official game since the WBC earlier this year," but he highly evaluated, "He was successful mainly as a bullpen pitcher in Japan. This appears to be a role with a high possibility of success in the major leagues."
According to Japan's Nikkan Sports, Rodriguez's expected contract size was also revealed.
According to baseball industry officials, he is expected to sign a multi-year contract worth 40 to 70 million dollars (52.5 billion won to 91.8 billion won).