The Athletics added another depth piece on Wednesday, claiming outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez off waivers from the Pirates and sending him to Triple-A Las Vegas. To make room on the 40-man roster, the club transferred Tyler Soderstrom to the 60-day injured list after it was revealed earlier this week that he will have season-ending hip surgery on Friday.
Rodríguez, 26, has spent the year in constant motion. Cleveland designated him for assignment in March, then dealt him to the Orioles, who also designated him for assignment in July. Baltimore moved him to Pittsburgh, but he only stuck there for a few weeks before the Pirates cut him loose as well, setting up this latest waiver claim.
The appeal is easy to see in the minors. Rodríguez has taken 1,403 Triple-A plate appearances over the past few seasons and turned them into 62 home runs, a 12.5% walk rate, and a combined .298/.388/.508 line with a 135 wRC+. The big-league results have been much harsher: in 132 plate appearances, he has hit .177/.288/.301 with a 31.8% strikeout rate.
Baseball America’s scouting reports point to a possible reason the gap has been so wide. Rodríguez reportedly has trouble with spin, which can allow major league pitchers to work around the fastball. That’s a tougher game in the minors, where secondary pitches are often less sharp.
For Oakland, the move makes sense as a low-cost bet. With Soderstrom sidelined for the season, the A’s had a clear opening on the roster.
Rodríguez is still optionable for the rest of this year, so the club can keep him at Triple-A for now and see whether the bat ever catches up. If it does, he could become a cheap long-term piece, since he still has less than a year of service time.
The catch is that he’ll be out of options next year, which will tighten the squeeze on his already shaky roster spot.
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