The Purple Sox introduced Monday that they’ve designated left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez for task and chosen the contract of righty Brad Keller from Triple-A Worcester in his place.
Rodriguez was chosen to the 40-man roster himself on Friday, and the Sox used him closely over the weekend. The 32-year-old southpaw pitched in three straight video games from Friday via Sunday, logging 2 2/3 innings and permitting a run on 4 hits and no walks with one strikeout. Rodriguez was absolutely unavailable in the present day for what’s successfully a doubleheader — the Sox will end their suspended sport towards the Blue Jays after which play a second sport versus the Jays this night — and shall be jettisoned from the roster for a contemporary arm in Keller.
This weekend’s stretch of three strong appearances from Rodriguez helped to pare down a tough earned run common that now sits at a still-unsightly 5.93 on the season — albeit in simply 13 2/3 innings. Rodriguez’s under-the-hood numbers are far, much better. He’s fanned a below-average 18.8% of his opponents but additionally sports activities a pristine 3.1% stroll charge and an enormous 59.2% ground-ball charge on this season’s 14 appearances. Metrics like xFIP (3.07) and SIERA (2.87) are far more bullish on his efficiency than his ERA.
That’s nothing new for Rodriguez, who sports activities a roughly common 22.5% strikeout charge in his profession, a higher-than-average 10% stroll charge and a terrific 56% ground-ball charge. In 170 2/3 innings, he’s posted a 4.80 ERA, however his respectable means to overlook bats and big ground-ball tendencies have lengthy led ERA options to forecast higher bottom-line outcomes. Rodriguez has at instances had success within the majors, however his whiffs and grounders have been undercut by persistent struggles with males on base; his profession 64% strand charge is about eight proportion factors worse than common.
Now that Rodriguez has been designated for task, he’ll be positioned on waivers and made obtainable to the opposite 29 golf equipment. A brand new group would owe him a prorated $2MM base wage for any time spent on the massive league roster or injured record (about $344K for the rest of the season). If he goes unclaimed, he can reject his outright task, develop into a free agent, and hope to latch on with a brand new membership as a depth choice previous to the Aug. 31 postseason eligibility deadline.
Right this moment’s transfer is a swap of 1 veteran for an additional. Keller will rejoin the group after being beforehand designated for task himself, electing free company, and returning on a minor league deal. He’s appeared in 15 video games for Boston this season and pitched 37 2/3 innings of 5.30 ERA ball with a 17.8% strikeout charge, 7.7% stroll charge and 49.3% ground-ball charge. He’s been working primarily as a starter in Worcester and is stretched out for lengthy reduction if wanted. In 30 innings with the WooSox this season, Keller has a 3.00 ERA.
Keller is in his first season with the Purple Sox group however spent six years as a fixture on the Royals’ pitching employees. From 2018-20, he was a daily within the rotation and a gentle supply of high quality innings. His outcomes dipped in 2021, and by 2023 his command had deteriorated to the purpose the place he walked a shocking 45 batters in 45 1/3 innings. Keller finally hit the injured record and was recognized with thoracic outlet syndrome, which required season-ending surgical procedure. He’s but to rediscover his 2018-20 kind (360 1/3 innings, 3.50 ERA, 16.8% strikeout charge, 9.1% stroll charge, 52.1% grounder charge), however he’s nonetheless comparatively younger at 29 and has been excellent within the minors not too long ago. Over his previous 22 innings in Triple-A, Keller sports activities a 0.82 ERA and 15-to-1 Ok/BB ratio.
