Dodgers News: Eduardo Rodriguez Wanted ‘Contractual Enhancements’ to Join LA

Eduardo Rodriguez is not a popular man in LA.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had a deal in place to acquire the Detroit Tigers left-handed starter in the hour leading up to MLB’s August 1 trade deadline.

But Rodriguez made one of the most controversial moves of deadline day when he exercised his no-trade clause, effectively quashing his move west.

Bringing Rodriguez in would have immediately solved a need for the Dodgers, giving the team another starter along with new rotation arm Lance Lynn, who was acquired in the days leading up to the deadline. The Dodgers rotation has been one of the worst in baseball this season, and it’s been affected by both key injuries and subpar performance.

But Rodriguez opted to stay in Detroit, and since then, the reason or reasons behind his rationale have remained a mystery.

Now there’s some clarity behind his reasoning, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Thursday that Rodriguez and his agent Gene Mato wanted “contractual enhancements” to join the Dodgers, enhancements that were not approved. This is in addition to Rodriguez stating he wanted to remain in Detroit for family reasons.

“However, according to team sources briefed on the discussions, Rodriguez and Mato asked for financial and contractual enhancements for the pitcher to join the Dodgers, one of 10 teams to which he is contractually permitted to block a trade. When those enhancements were not granted, he invoked his no-trade protection.”

via The Athletic

The exact enhancements the two wanted remain unknown.

Rodriguez is in the second year of a five-year, $77 million contract, and he can opt out of the deal at the end of this season.

The 30-year-old has had a quality year for the struggling Tigers, posting a would-be career low 2.96 ERA through 16 starts.

For his team, it hasn’t been the same story, as Detroit currently stands at 48-60 and are seven games out of a playoff spot in a weak AL Central.

So the Dodgers will go on and try to piece things together with their current rotation in an effort to remain atop the NL West, after Lynn had a relatively successful Dodger debut on Monday.

And Rodriguez will stay in Michigan for at least the next two months and attempt to somehow get Detroit to the postseason — a prospect that’s looking more and more unlikely with each passing day.

Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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