Rodriguez is projected open the regular season in the bullpen, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports. He allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks while striking out two over five spring innings.
Sullivan goes as far as calling Rodriguez a "lock" to make the final roster when MLB eventually begins its season. The 28-year-old left-hander pitched well in Japan over the last two seasons, after posting a 5.40 ERA in two partial seasons with the Phillies in 2016 and 2017. He's a classic reliever, whose mid-90s fastball is his top asset, while he uses a slider to generate swings-and-misses. Rodriguez's strikeout rate jumped to 10.6 per nine innings while he was with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball. He could serve as a late-inning lefty option, but he will need to out-perform Brett Martin first.