Paco Rodriguez

Steven Francis "Paco" Rodríguez (born April 16, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Prior to playing professionally, Rodriguez attended the University of Florida, where he played college baseball for the Florida Gators. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"Steven Rodriguez" redirects here. For the infielder, see Steve Rodriguez. For the rap artist, see A$AP Yams.

Paco Rodriguez
Rodriguez with the Los Angeles Dodgers
Free agent
Relief pitcher
Born: (1991-04-16) April 16, 1991
Miami, Florida
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 9, 2012, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
(through 2015 season)
Win–loss record4–5
Earned run average2.53
Strikeouts91
Teams

Amateur career

Rodriguez is of Cuban descent. His parents met and married in Spain after defecting from their home country separately. They then moved to the Dominican Republic, Canada, and New Jersey before living in the Miami, Florida area, where their son was born on April 16, 1991.[1] Rodriguez has an older sister and a younger sister who graduated from Brown University.[2] He attended Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami, Florida,[3] where he was named to Class 3A All-State and the Miami Herald All-Dade Team.[4] The Houston Astros selected Rodriguez in the 48th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft after his high school graduation, but he did not sign.[5]

Rodriguez enrolled at the University of Florida, in order to play college baseball for the Florida Gators baseball team in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). For the Gators, Rodriguez served as the team's closer.[6] His career earned run average (ERA) at Florida (2.19) in 86 appearances is the lowest since the introduction of aluminum bats in 1974. He was an All-SEC selection in 2012.[7] Rodriguez helped lead the Gators to the College World Series in three consecutive years.[5]

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Rodriguez in the second round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft. Draft experts suggested that he would be one of the first players from the draft to reach the majors.[8] After signing with the Dodgers, he was assigned to the Great Lakes Loons of the Class A Midwest League.[5] After six appearances with the Loons, he was promoted to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class AA Southern League,[9] where he pitched in 15 games with a 1.32 ERA.[10]

The Dodgers promoted Rodriguez to the major leagues on September 5, 2012,[10] and became the first 2012 draftee to reach the majors.[11] He made his debut in a game on September 9 against the San Francisco Giants and retired the one batter he faced.[2] He appeared in 11 games for the Dodgers in 2012, as a left-handed specialist, and allowed only one run to score in 6.2 innings.[12]

Rodriguez started the 2013 season on the Dodgers' major league roster. After a rocky April,[13] he became a trusted member of the Dodgers' bullpen,[14] though he faltered in September and October under the heavy workload of an MLB season.[13] From May through August, his ERA was 1.31 in 52 appearances.[13] His season totals were a record of 3-4 with a 2.32 ERA in 76 games.[13]

Rodriguez spent most of 2014 with the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes, but had four separate brief stints with the Dodgers.[15] In July, Rodriguez strained an upper back muscle.[16] In 32 games with the Isotopes, he was 2–3 with a 4.40 ERA and in 19 games for the Dodgers, he was 1–0 with a 3.86 ERA.[17]

In May 2015, Rodriguez was added to the disabled list and underwent a bone spur removal surgery in July.[18]

Atlanta Braves

On July 30, 2015, in a three-team trade, the Atlanta Braves acquired Rodriguez, Héctor Olivera, minor league pitcher Zachary Bird, and a competitive balance draft pick for the 2016 MLB Draft, while the Dodgers acquired Mat Latos, Michael Morse, Bronson Arroyo, Alex Wood, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilán, and José Peraza, and the Miami Marlins acquired minor league pitchers Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham, and Kevin Guzman.[19] Though he was expected to recover sufficiently from multiple injuries by September and make his first appearances for the Braves, Rodriguez did not pitch at the major league level for the rest of the 2015 season, and underwent Tommy John surgery in September.[18] On December 2, 2016, Rodriguez and the Braves avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $637,500 contract for the 2017 season.[20] Rodriguez was released from his contract with the Braves on March 28, 2017.

Baltimore Orioles

On July 10, 2017, Rodriguez signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Minnesota Twins

Rodriguez signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2018 season. After one appearance for the Skeeters he signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins.[21] He was released by the organization on August 2, 2018.

Sugar Land Skeeters

On August 10, 2018, Rodriguez re-signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He became a free agent following the 2018 season.

San Diego Padres

On February 18, 2019, Rodriguez signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres.[22] He became a free agent following the 2019 season.[23]

Pitching style

Rodriguez has an unusual and deceptive delivery in which, from the batter's perspective, he hides the ball behind his head before slinging it towards the plate.[14]

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References
  1. Saxon, Mark (April 10, 2013). "Paco Rodriguez and Yasiel Puig on fast tracks". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  2. Hernandez, Dylan (September 10, 2012). "Dodgers' Matt Kemp, who has hurt shoulder, aims to return Tuesday". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  3. "Gulliver student-athletes are college-bound". Nl.newsbank.com. January 15, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  4. "Pair Of Drafted Gator Baseball Players To Return". WCTV. August 18, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  5. Bernreuter, Hugh. "Los Angeles Dodgers assign second-round pick Steven Rodriguez to Great Lakes Loons roster". Booth Newspapers. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  6. "No 1 Florida has sights set on NCAA title this season". USA Today. February 16, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  7. "UF Baseball's Steven Rodriguez Signs With Los Angeles Dodgers". Gatorzone.com. July 5, 2012. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  8. "Path to Majors could be short for Rodriguez". MLB.com. June 19, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  9. Bernreuter, Hugh (September 6, 2012). "Los Angeles Dodgers promote former Great Lakes Loons reliever Steven Rodriguez". Booth Newspapers. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  10. Dilbeck, Steve (September 5, 2012). "Chad Billingsley's season ends; just-drafted Steven Rodriguez up". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  11. Angert, Alex (September 5, 2012). "Lefty Rodriguez is first 2012 draftee to reach bigs". MLB.com. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  12. Dilbeck, Steve (October 28, 2012). "Daily Dodger in Review: The early promise of Paco Rodriguez". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  13. Dilbeck, Steve (November 26, 2013). "Daily Dodger in Review: Paco Rodriguez is brilliant until overuse". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  14. Dylan Hernandez, Dodgers reliever Paco Rodriguez continues to impress, Los Angeles Times, Published August 26, 2013, Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  15. "Paco Rodriguez 2014 Minor League Gamelogs & Splits - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  16. "Dodgers looking hard for another lefty". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  17. Dilbeck, Steve (January 11, 2015). "Daily Dodger in Review: Paco Rodriguez takes a step back". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  18. Bowman, Mark (October 2, 2015). "Tommy John surgery for Braves' Rodriguez". MLB.com. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  19. Hoornstra, J.P. (July 30, 2015). "Dodgers get pitchers Mat Latos, Alex Wood in three-team deadline deal". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  20. Bowman, Mark (December 2, 2016). "Braves agree to deals with Recker, Rodriguez". MLB.com. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  21. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/05/twins-sign-paco-rodriguez-minors.html
  22. Eddy, Matt (February 26, 2019). "Minor League Transactions: Feb 16 - Feb 22". Baseball America. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  23. Matt Eddy (November 7, 2019). "Minor League Free Agents 2019". Baseball America. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
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