Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Sunday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Rodriguez was believed to have an outside chance at a ninth-inning role heading into the regular season, but he'll ultimately begin the year in the minors. The right-hander posted a 6.11 ERA and 1.70 WHIP in 17.2 innings across 20 relief appearances for the Cubs last year, but his fastball averaged 97.2 mph, so he could be in the mix for a high-leverage role for the major-league club at some point in 2022.