Phillies trade Joely Rodriguez to the Rangers for cash or PTBNL
By John Town
The Phillies have traded Joely Rodriguez to the Rangers for cash or a player to be named later after designating Rodriguez for assignment last week.
Joely Rodriguez is now in the third organization of his career as the Phillies traded Rodriguez to the Rangers Tuesday. Philadelphia will receive a player to be named later or cash for the left-handed reliever.
Rodriguez was designated for assignment last week by the team. He will now head for Texas’s Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express.
Rodriguez was never able to find himself on the mound this season. He walked five batters per nine innings and gave up home runs on 18.2% of fly balls. His 6.33 ERA and 5.81 FIP were both well below-average. His -1.1 bWAR is worst on the team among both pitchers and hitters.
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Ironically, Rodriguez’s worst outing of the season came against the Rangers May 18. In just 0.2 innings, he gave up seven runs on six hits and two walks. He is now with the team that he performed so poorly against earlier this season.
After being removed from the 40-man roster in 2015, Rodriguez bounced back in 2016.
In 76.2 innings between High-A Clearwater, Double-A Reading, and Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Rodriguez had a 2.35 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, and 3.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He started the season in Double-A, went down to High-A, and rose through the system’s ranks from there.
Rodriguez’s success catapulted him back onto the 40-man roster and into the major leagues by the end of the season. In 12 outings, Rodriguez had a 2.79 ERA, 18% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate, and 0.2 fWAR.
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Rodriguez initially came to the Phils from the Pirates in exchange for Antonio Bastardo in December of 2014. After struggling as a starter in 2015, he was converted to a relief pitcher.