The Detroit Tigers have had no contact with Eduardo Rodriguez since the star pitcher was placed on the banned list three weeks ago, according to general manager Al Avila, adding that the team has “no choice but to wait.”
Avila addressed Rodriguez’s condition on Wednesday, 23 days after the left-handed player was placed on the banned list for personal matters. The Tigers announced at the time that Rodriguez would not rejoin the team “until further notice” and Avila said on Wednesday that the situation was “unusual”.
“We’ve arrived, but obviously he hasn’t arrived, so we’re just waiting for him,” Avila told reporters. “It’s unusual, but we have no choice but to wait and see what develops going forward.”
Rodriguez is in the first year of a five-year, 77 million contract with the Tigers, but has not stood since he was injured in a rib cage on May 18. He was to return from a minor league rehabilitation assignment before being placed on the banned list. June 13.
Rodriguez was not paid on the banned list and Avila declined to say whether the Tigers had discussed canceling his contract.
“I’m not going to get to the point,” Avila said. “Of course this is their private status right now, so I’m not going to enter into any of that legality.”
Tigers manager AJ Hinch told reporters last Friday that Rodriguez was at his home, but did not give further details, adding that the team “respected his privacy and gave us some direction on what to do next.” Tried to wait for their camp. “
“We want him to recover,” Hinch told reporters. “We want him to be in a good place, we want everything to be stable around him. But you can’t imagine until you know exactly what it is. We will wait for it to open whenever we want. “
Rodriguez, 29, is 1-3 with a 4.38 ERA in eight starts this season for the Tigers. He spent his first six major league seasons with the Boston Red Sox and was the 19-game winner for Boston in 2019.