Elvin

Rodriguez

Rodriguez was then optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. He’s on the 40-man roster, so it’s possible the 27-year-old helps the Baltimore bullpen as a multi-inning option before 2025 comes to a close.

Rodríguez allowed six runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings on Wednesday and will now head back to the minors to allow the Brewers to bring up a fresh arm for their bullpen.

Rodríguez will give the Brewers a fresh bullpen arm. Craig Yoho was optioned back to Triple-A in the corresponding transaction.

As tends to happen, Rodríguez loses his spot after saving the Brewers pen by throwing 68 pitches in relief last night. He pitched well, allowing one run and striking out seven. Still, he did have a 7.53 ERA through two starts and two relief appearances.

This just isn’t working. Rodriguez gave up homers to Blake Dunn, TJ Friedl, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jose Trevino before exiting. Those four homers equaled the number of missed swings he got in 76 pitches, and he’s now 0-2 with an 11.00 ERA. The Brewers will likely have Jose Quintana replace him in the rotation next weekend.

Three of the runs came in the first, an inning that featured a weak chopper for a single and then a ground rule double that probably would have been caught had Jackson Chourio been playing left field. Instead, Christian Yelich was out there for the first time this season. Rodriguez rebounded afterwards, but the Brewers couldn’t ask for much length from him today, given that he topped out at 62 pitches in spring training and threw just 34 in his final Cactus outing. He might start again versus the Reds next week before the Brewers begin getting injured pitchers back.

The 26-year-old right-hander allowed two hits in the contest and didn’t walk a batter. Rodriguez got himself out of trouble with a pair of strikeouts in the opening inning, then came back and struck out the side in his second inning of work. He’s expected to function in a multi-inning role out of the Brewers’ bullpen to open the 2025 season which makes him a tough sell from a fantasy perspective outside of NL-only formats.

Rodriguez gave up five hits, including two homers. He struck out two and issued one walk. There isn’t a path to starts in Milwaukee’s overcrowded rotation mix, but he’s an interesting name to watch for fantasy purposes. He showed some flashes of potential back in 2023 with the Rays before heading overseas to pitch in Japan where he dominated for two seasons. The 26-year-old figures to open the year in a multi-inning relief role with the Brewers, which might translate to some NL-only fantasy value.

Rodriguez gets an MLB deal after spending the 2024 season with the Yakult Swallows in Japan. He was very effective in the NPB with a 1.74 ERA over 88 innings, and he’s well known for having one of the more lively fastballs in terms of movement. Rodriguez will likely be a middle-inning option, but the 26-year-old could compete for saves at some point with the Milwaukee closing situation far from concrete.

Rodriguez was released by the Rays over the weekend to pursue a more lucrative opportunity overseas in Japan. The 25-year-old right-hander fired 3 1/3 scoreless frames with five strikeouts in his lone relief appearance for Tampa Bay this season. He’s compiled a stellar 3.42 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 53/19 K/BB ratio across 47 1/3 innings (11 starts) this year for Triple-A Durham. He should absolutely attract interest from major-league clubs once he’s finished pitching in Japan.