Attention shifts to opt-out clause after Tigers' Eduardo Rodriguez blocks Dodgers trade

PITTSBURGH — Eduardo Rodriguez, still a member of the Detroit Tigers, sat on the floor in the visitor's clubhouse at PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, before Wednesday's start.

The 30-year-old, less than 24 hours after invoking his 10-team no-trade clause to nix a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, seemed happy in his environment as he joked around with teammates Jose Cisnero and Javier Báez.

Later on, Rodriguez stepped on the mound and tossed six innings of two-run ball in the Tigers' 6-3 win.

"I feel like we had a couple conversations a little bit, but the details of the trade wasn't right where I wanted for me and my family," Rodriguez said after Wednesday's start. "I decided to stay here in Detroit."

Personal reasons? Financial reasons?

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The Tigers' left-hander wouldn't specify.

"That's something that is just between them and me, so I can't tell you about that," Rodriguez said. "But the details, I wasn't feeling really comfortable with it, and I decided to stay here. It's nothing against the Dodgers or where I'm living. They're a really good team over there and everything, but I'm just thinking about my future and my family, and I took the decision to stay here."

Both the Tigers and Dodgers tried to meet certain contractual demands from Rodriguez in the process of negotiating the trade and had reason to believe Rodriguez would waive his limited no-trade clause in pursuit of a World Series championship.

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In the final hour, Rodriguez voided the Tigers' trade with the Dodgers.

"I'm not going to share exactly the conversations revealed to me," Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Tuesday. "I'm not going to share exactly what we said. Just know that we were talking throughout about possible destinations, and it didn't work out in the end. I have to leave it at that."

Rodriguez's agent, Gene Mato of Mato Sports Management, released a statement Wednesday night. 

"I negotiated a no-trade clause in his contract for a reason," Mato said Wednesday night in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. "With all of the money, glamour and fame that comes with being a professional athlete there is also a very difficult, personal side. Many players' wives and their children suffer a lot of instability in their lives, especially when their spouses get traded. I do not take that lightly.

"Eduardo is one of the best left handed starting pitchers in baseball but he is also a human being who wants stability for his family. They are comfortable living in the Detroit area and have adjusted well.

"As for the Dodgers in particular, once I was granted permission to speak with them regarding the trade, we did our best to come up with a way to make it happen where everyone was comfortable with the outcome. Unfortunately, we just ran out of time."

Now that Rodriguez is staying, the eight-year MLB veteran has another decision to make when the 2023 World Series concludes. The five-year, $77 million contract he signed in November 2021 allows him to exercise an opt-out clause after this season. He would leave three years and $49 million on the table to become a free agent again.

Rodriguez didn't commit to sticking with the Tigers beyond 2023.

"If I had a magic ball and I could tell you the future, I'd probably tell you right away," Rodriguez said. "But right now, I'm here. I'm with this organization and I signed here for a long time to stay here. I feel happy with everything. My family feels happy in Detroit. I feel happy with my teammates and the organization. I'd really love to stay here."

A pay raise awaits Rodriguez because of his stellar performance, which explains why the industry expects him to return to free agency unless the Tigers negotiate a contract extension or restructure his salary for the next three years. He has a 2.96 ERA with 22 walks and 96 strikeouts over 94⅓ innings in 16 starts.

As of Tuesday evening, the Tigers and Rodriguez hadn't engaged in formal talks about a contract extension. Rodriguez holds the leverage in any potential negotiations because the trade deadline passed without the Tigers moving him.

"It's not fair for me to comment on that," Harris said. "We are having conversations with a lot of our players all of the time. The nature of those conversations, I think, should remain confidential.

"If we have news to share on those conversations, we will be the first to share it with you guys. Not about hiding the ball at all. It's just more about protecting confidential information between different clubs and us and our own players."

Rodriguez doubled down: Killing the trade to the Dodgers, which would have netted the Tigers a few much-needed prospects for their rebuild, didn't happen for any reason other than the details of the deal in place.

"It's nothing about the Dodgers or the West Coast or whatever," Rodriguez said. "It's about the details to go 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."

The Tigers placed a high asking price on the return package for Rodriguez from the beginning of trade negotiations. The asking price limited interest across the league to large-market postseason contenders that needed a starting pitcher and were willing to absorb the financial risk of his opt-out clause.

Rodriguez and the Tigers communicated about at least two teams — the Dodgers and possibly the Texas Rangers before the Max Scherzer trade — leading up to the day of the trade deadline. The Tigers and Dodgers weren't close to a trade agreement until Monday night, less than 24 hours before Tuesday's 6 p.m. deadline.

"We went through all the conversations, and we discussed a couple teams," Rodriguez said. "Everybody (from the Tigers) was really good about it. They talked to me, and I talked to them. At the end of the day, my decision was to stay here, which is best for me and my family and my future."

Rodriguez, who shares a close relationship with manager A.J. Hinch, clarified he wants to stay with the Tigers, but he didn't promise to stay with the Tigers for the final three years of his current contract.

There's another choice to make in about three months.

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