Farrell: Eduardo Rodriguez to start for Red Sox Thursday
It appears the Red Sox will be getting a glimpse of pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez sooner rather than later.
The 22-year-old left-hander is slated to be called up to the big club and make his major league debut on Thursday when he will for the Red Sox in Texas, manager John Farrell told the media before Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Twins.
Farrell said Rodriguez’s promotion doesn’t mean anyone is being taken out of the rotation, and that the Red Sox plan to use six starters over the next six games.
“We’re running through a stretch of 20 consecutive games played,’’ Farrell said to reporters, via ESPNBoston.com. “So we’re building in a sixth starter this time through the rotation. We’ll have a corresponding move for that tomorrow.
“He’s got very good stuff. He’s got very good ability with his fastball — a lot of strikes, a lot of power to it. His changeup is a true weapon for him. His slider is a pitch for him that continues to come along. We wanted to build in an extra day for guy. We also wanted to get his debut kind of under his belt before we could possibly need him later this season.’’
Rodriguez came to the Red Sox in a deadline trade last summer that sent Andrew Miller to the Baltimore Orioles; Rodriguez made six starts for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, going 3-1 with a 0.96 ERA. Pitching with Triple-A Pawtucket this season, Rodriguez has a 2.98 ERA in eight starts, striking out 44 batters while walking only seven.
Rodriguez is among a trio of potential future Red Sox starters currently residing in Pawtucket, along with fellow left-handers Brian Johnson and Henry Owens. All three have ERAs under 3.00 and could see time at the big league level this season.
Farrell said that the plan is for Rodriguez to return to Triple-A after the start. When asked if the plans could change should Rodriguez pitch well, Farrell replied “then we’ll have to really, really, really reconsider.’’
Notable Red Sox rookies
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