Juan Soto wasn’t the only one on the move on Wednesday night.
Eduardo Rodriguez agreed to a four-year, $80 million deal with the Diamondbacks that can reach a fifth year and $100 if he pitches 150 innings in 2027, according to The Post’s Joel Sherman.
Rodriguez, who spent the last two years with the Tigers, was a pitcher the Mets had interest in, especially if they are not able to add Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, according to The Post’s Jon Heyman.
The 30-year-old opted out of the final three years of his deal after going 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA with 143 strikeouts over 152 2/3 innings in 2023.
Ironically, Rodriguez will now go to the National League West after blocking a trade to the Dodgers that would’ve sent him to Los Angeles at this year’s Aug. 1 deadline.
“It’s nothing against the Dodgers or the West Coast or whatever,” Rodriguez told reporters at the time, according to MLB.com’s Jason Beck. “ It’s just about the details to go out there and where my family is. My future is where they’re happy and I’m happy and that’s why I decided to stay here.
“It has nothing to do with the Dodgers.”
Now, Rodriguez will get to face off against the Dodgers more often as part of the reigning NL champion Diamondbacks.
Last season was a bit of a bounce back for Rodriguez, who finished sixth in the American League Cy Young voting in 2019 as a member of the Red Sox.
But in 2020, the left-hander suffered a severe bout of COVID-19 and dealt with myocarditis, sitting out the shortened season.
After back-to-back years of holding ERAs over 4.00, Rodriguez got back on track last year and proved to be a bright spot on a 78-win Tigers team.
According to Baseball Savant, Rodriguez finished last year in the 92 percentile in pitching run value.
Now, he will look to help bolster a pitching staff that finished 2023 with a 4.48 ERA, which ranked 20th in baseball.
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