Pirates A to Z: Despite a weird wild pitch, Richard Rodriguez was a capable closer

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Anthony Alford to pitcher Nik Turley.

Richard Rodriguez

Position: Pitcher

Throws: Right

Age: 30

Height: 6-foot-4

Weight: 218 pounds

2020 MLB statistics: Went 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA/0.857 WHIP and four saves in 23 1/3 innings in 24 appearances.

Contract: Eligible for arbitration after making $633,500 last season.

Acquired: Signed a minor-league deal in December 2017 after being designated for assignment by the Baltimore Orioles and electing free agency.

This past season: If it seemed like Rodriguez was the last Pirates pitcher standing, it was true in both a literal and figurative sense.

The bullpen suffered blow after blow, as Kyle Crick, Michael Feliz, Clay Holmes and Keone Kela were among the relievers who spent significant time on the injured list.

“It’s been tough to witness and be a part of so many guys going down with these injuries,” Rodriguez said, “especially some of the guys … that are huge assets to the bullpen.”

Rodriguez became the Pirates’ closer, even if they were reluctant to call him one.

“In reality, I don’t have, or neither have I been communicated a set role,” Rodriguez said. “That’s a decision of the manager. All I know is that whenever the manager needs me, I’m going to be ready.”

A season earlier, Rodriguez was sent to Triple-A Indianapolis in May 2019 after allowing home runs on eight of his 23 hits in 21 innings. He gave up 14 homers for the season, as his strikeout rate slipped to 22.1% while his walk rate increased to 8.1%.

Javier Baez chases a slider from Richard Rodriguez that was 1.51 feet outside, the 4th farthest outside swinging strike of the year.

Check out the wild swing leaderboard at: https://t.co/zVNx9QoRN9#LetsGoBucs #Pirates #MLB pic.twitter.com/6ZAuI3uEQ1

— 80 Grade Eephus (@8Eephus) September 24, 2020

Rodriguez improved in 2020, when he started relying more on a slider that had opponents batting .050 with a 63.6% whiff rate and became a putout pitch. Rodriguez finished 15 games and recorded four saves in 24 appearances. He allowed only three home runs while striking out 34 and walking five, boasting 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings and 1.9 walks per nine innings and increasing his strikeout rate to 36.6% while reducing his walk rate to 5.4%.

“He’s pitched well,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He’s moved in to closer to the back end of the bullpen.”

Rodriguez did have three wild pitches, however, and one provided the low point of his season. It came in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 9, which Rodriguez entered with a tied game. With two outs, Rodriguez hit Jonathan Schoop with a pitch. Rodriguez then threw one that sailed so far off target it headed toward the home dugout. Schoop advanced to second on the wild pitch and scored on Miguel Cabrera’s single for a 2-1 win and a three-game series sweep.

Richard Rodriguez juuuuuuust a bit outside (his cleat got stuck, if you're wondering) #Pirates pic.twitter.com/mMuXVNEKDc

— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) August 9, 2020

Afterward, Shelton explained that Rodriguez caught his spike on the mound during his delivery, which caused the errant throw.

“I’ve seen guys catch their spikes before,” Shelton said. “I’ve seen guys catch their spikes with runners on second and third, bases loaded. It’s just one of those things that happened. It’s a freak play. It’s unfortunate that it happened at that time, especially as well as Richie threw the ball.”

Rodriguez blew a save at Milwaukee on Aug. 29 when he walked Jace Peterson and gave up a walk-off home run to Eric Sogard as the Brewers rallied for a 7-6 win in the ninth.

Richard Rodriguez gives up WALKOFF HR to Eric Sogard. Some things just don’t change 7-6 #Brewers beat #Pirates pic.twitter.com/SLkYQmhF0r

— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) August 30, 2020

For the most part, Rodriguez was one of the stabilizing forces in a bullpen that was battered all season. He continued to thrive in the high-leverage role, even if he’s meant to be more of a setup man than closer.

Rodriguez has come a long way since being designated for assignment by the Baltimore Orioles in 2017.

The future: One of the things Shelton appreciates about Rodriguez is his willingness to pitch in any situation, no matter the role.

“He hasn’t changed since the first day that we sat down and talked to him in Bradenton to now, regardless of the situation,” Shelton said. “The thing I love about him the most is, I ask him all the time if he wants to pitch and he tells me, ‘Any time, any day, and as much as you want.’ And I think he genuinely means it. It’s a credit to him. He’s kind of like (Bryan) Reynolds, where I don’t think he has a heartbeat. He just continues to do things and execute pitches, and that’s extremely admirable.”

Rodriguez enters his first year of arbitration eligibility, so he’s due a raise on the $633,500 salary of last season (though he earned only a fraction of that). His price tag is affordable, which makes Rodriguez a potential trade asset. But he expressed his hope of returning to play for the Pirates, where his career was resuscitated.

“Ever since I got to this organization, I’ve been instilled with nothing but confidence and security,” Rodriguez said. “So many men in this organization have poured so much trust and confidence within me, and I’m just grateful that I could pay it back to them and show them that it’s worth believing in me. It’s worth counting on me, because I’m going to go out there, and I’m going to give it everything that I have. I’m going to give my all to this team.

“So it feels good that this team and this organization that’s trusted me since Day 1, that they continue to trust me and depend on me in situations like that. My prayer is that they continue to trust me as I move forward.”