Rodriguez turned in a perfect ninth inning to earn the save in Sunday's 8-6 win over San Francisco.
With Jeff Hoffman having pitched in the Jays' previous two games, it was Rodriguez who got the call in the ninth Sunday. The right-hander made quick work of the Giants, retiring the side on just seven pitches, to extend his scoreless streak to 7.2 innings while picking up his second save of the year. The 28-year-old Rodriguez has impressed in a setup role this season, working to a 2.37 ERA with a 0.91 WHIP and 48:16 K:BB across 49.1 innings.
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Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Rolling into break
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Rodriguez gave up a hit and a walk while striking out two in a scoreless inning of relief Sunday in a loss to the A's.
The right-hander continues to thrive in a high-leverage role. Over 17.2 innings since the beginning of June, Rodriguez has posted a 2.04 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 18:6 K:BB while collecting two wins, three holds and a save. While the Jays could well bolster their bullpen at the trade deadline, Rodriguez seems locked in as part of the late-inning bridge to closer Jeff Hoffman.
Rodriguez earned the save in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Cardinals, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
With Jeff Hoffman unavailable after pitching on back-to-back days, Rodriguez was called upon for the save in the ninth and needed just 10 pitches to close out the win. The 28-year-old has been a steady presence in the Blue Jays' bullpen this season, posting a 2.97 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 32:11 K:BB across 33.1 innings.
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Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Collects first win
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Rodriguez (1-0) was charged with his first blown save of the season but recorded the win in Monday's extra-inning victory against the Cardinals, giving up two runs on two hits in 1.1 innings. He struck out two.
He entered the game in the eighth inning with the bases loaded to protect a 3-0 lead, but Rodriguez promptly gave up an RBI single to Willson Contreras before serving up a three-run blast to Ivan Herrera. The right-hander stuck around to work a scoreless inning after the Jays tied it in the ninth, and was the pitcher to record when they pushed across the winning run in the 10th. It's the first time Rodriguez has been tagged with an earned run since May 4, and the first time he's been taken deep since April 30, a stingy stretch that has him sporting a 3.06 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 31:11 K:BB through 32.1 innings on the season with eight holds.
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Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Dazzles in relief Thursday
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Rodriguez picked up his fourth hold of the season in Thursday's win over the Angels, allowing one hit and striking out five over two scoreless innings.
The 28-year-old right-hander needed only 29 pitches (20 strikes) to record his six outs, as Rodriguez helped give the Blue Jays' usual high-leverage options a breather by working the seventh and eighth innings. He may be joining that group himself -- Rodriguez has recorded a hold in back-to-back appearances, and over his last nine outings and 12.1 innings he's posted a 2.92 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 15:5 K:BB.
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Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Picks up third hold
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Rodriguez gave up a hit and struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings Wednesday to record his third hold of the season in a loss to the Angels.
Jeff Hoffman wound up blowing the save in the ninth, but not before Rodriguez breezed through the top of the Halos' order in the seventh and eighth innings to pick up his first hold since April 1. Both Hoffman (six runs allowed in his last two appearances) and Yimi Garcia (seven runs in his last two) have begun to crack under heavy early-season workloads, and while Rodriguez hasn't been particularly consistent himself, he has pitched better over the last few weeks, posting a 3.48 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 10:5 K:BB over his last 10.1 innings. The 28-year-old righty could be in line to become a regular part of Toronto's high-leverage crew.
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Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Drawing opener assignment
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Rodriguez will serve as the Blue Jays' opening pitcher in Wednesday's game against the Red Sox, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.
Rodriguez was used as a starting pitcher by Toronto last season, but he's worked exclusively in relief in 2025. He hasn't thrown more than two innings in any appearance and will be pitching on two days' rest, so he should be in line for a fairly abbreviated outing. Eric Lauer is likely to follow him in bulk relief.
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Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Collects hold Sunday
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Rodriguez picked up his first hold of the season in Sunday's win over the Orioles, giving up one hit and striking out two in a scoreless eighth inning.
The right-hander is considered the favorite to step into the rotation for Max Scherzer (thumb) on Friday, and the 16 pitches (10 strikes) Rodriguez threw Sunday shouldn't impact his availability. His high-leverage usage was unexpected, but it came after Yimi Garcia and Nick Sandlin had worked Thursday and Friday, while Chad Green was on the bump Thursday and Saturday. If the Jays continue to lean heavily on their late-inning relief arms during the week and decide to keep Rodriguez in that role, Easton Lucas could get Friday's start instead. Jake Bloss -- who is currently scheduled to pitch Tuesday for Triple-A Buffalo -- might also be an option if he gets scratched, or the game gets rained out.
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Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Could start Friday
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Blue Jays manager John Schneider labeled Rodriguez as a candidate to start Friday's game against the Mets at Citi Field, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.
With Toronto's ideal five-man rotation at full health heading into Opening Day, Rodriguez missed out on a starting spot and made his season debut out of the bullpen in Thursday's 12-2 loss to the Orioles, giving up three earned runs on three hits and one walk over one inning. Despite the poor showing, Rodriguez could move into the rotation next weekend after Max Scherzer aggravated a thumb injury in Saturday's 9-5 loss to Baltimore and was subsequently placed on the injured list. Per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Scherzer is scheduled to visit a hand specialist Monday, when a timeline for the right-hander's return should come into focus. Rodriguez would be in line for at least two turns though the rotation while Scherzer is on the shelf.
Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Could be needed in rotation
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Rodriguez could begin the season in the rotation if Max Scherzer (thumb) isn't ready to make his first start, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
The Blue Jays will need a fifth starter March 31, giving Scherzer little time to recover and get fully stretched out. Rodriguez has worked 9.2 innings in Grapefruit League action this spring, striking out 11 batters but also walking seven and serving up four homers. If Toronto decides he's better suited for a long-relief role, or Scherzer's thumb issue is deemed to be minor and he's only expected to miss one or two turns through the rotation, Jake Bloss or Eric Lauer might be called upon instead.
Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Fans four in Friday's outing
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Rodriguez gave up two runs on five hits over three innings in Friday's Grapefruit League start against the Yankees. He struck out four without walking a batter.
The right-hander served up solo shots to Austin Wells and Cody Bellinger in the first inning, but Rodriguez settled down after that and counted Paul Goldschmidt and Aaron Judge among his strikeout victims before hitting the showers. Rodriguez got squeezed out of the Blue Jays' Opening Day rotation by the Max Scherzer signing, and it's not clear yet whether the team will keep him as a long man in the big-league bullpen to begin the season, or stash him at Triple-A Buffalo to stay stretched out in case an injury opens up a spot.
Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Will compete for rotation spot
Rotowire
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Friday that Rodriguez will compete for the fifth spot in the rotation during spring training, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
It makes sense for the club to keep Rodriguez stretched out in case someone else gets hurt, but the right-hander is pretty clearly sixth in the rotation pecking order heading into spring training following the addition of Max Scherzer. He still figures to be needed to start some games at some point, but Rodriguez is likely to begin the season in the bullpen if the Blue Jays' top five starters are healthy.
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Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Could be slated for bullpen
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Rodriguez might open the season in the Blue Jays' bullpen following the addition of Max Scherzer, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports.
Rodriguez will likely stay stretched out during spring training, but he looks to be sixth on the rotation depth chart for Toronto. The Blue Jays do have a stretch 13 games in 13 days from April 4-16, presenting an opportunity for Rodriguez to get a spot start or two if the club wants to use him in a swingman role. Rodriguez made 21 starts for Toronto in 2024, posting a 4.47 ERA and 85:40 K:BB over 86.2 innings.
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