Joely Rodríguez

Joely Rodriguez Sanchez

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.

• Debut September 11, 2016

• Born November 14, 1991 in Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional D.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Joely Rodriguez was signed as a 17-year-old by the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 2009 season. He made his professional debut that year with the DSL Pirates of the Dominican Summer League, going 2-5, 4.60 in 12 starts. 2010 saw him with the GCL Pirates in the Gulf Coast League where he went 2-2, 3.99 before earning a promotion to the State College Spikes of the New York-Penn League for a pair of relief appearances.

Joely was back at State College in 2011 but was limited to only two outings by an injury, and thus returned there in 2012 as well. He made 14 starts that season, with a record of 3-4, 4.50. He had not put up any particularly remarkable numbers in those first few season, but thing took a turn for the better in 2013, when his ERA was an excellent 2.70 in 26 starts between the West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League and the Bradenton Marauders of the Florida State League. His record between the two teams was 9-8, with 101 strikeouts in 140 innings. Promoted to the AA Altoona Curve in 2014, he did not fare as well, with his ERA jumping back to 4.84 in 30 games, including 21 starts. He went 6-11, with 151 hits allowed in 134 innings, and a K/W ratio of 73/43.

Even though he had found the Eastern League a bit of a challenge, the Philadelphia Phillies asked for him in a straight-up trade for major league reliever Antonio Bastardo on December 10, 2014.

After pitching for the Phillies in 2016 and 2017, he moved over to Japan for the next two seasons, playing for the Chunichi Dragons of the Central League in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, he returned to Major League Baseball with the Texas Rangers, who offered him a two-year contract. His first season was limited to just 12 games by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he pitched well, with an ERA of 2.13 and 17 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings. He did not have a single decision - win, loss or save. In 2021, he pitched 31 times for the Rangers, going 1-3, 5.93 with his first major league save and 30 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings. On July 29th, he joined All-Star OF Joey Gallo in being traded to the New York Yankees in return for four prospects. He pitched well the rest of the way, going 1-0, 2.84 in 21 games. He did not appear in the postseason as the Yankees lost the Wild Card Game to the Boston Red Sox.

On April 3, 2022, he was involved in a rare trade between the two New York teams as the Yankees sent him to the New York Mets in return for fellow reliever Miguel Castro. On April 29th, he was the third of five Mets pitchers to combine on a 3-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies. He relieved Tylor Megill and Drew Smith with one out in 7th, pitched one inning, then turned the ball over to Seth Lugo who finished the 8th before closer Edwin Diaz pitched the 9th.

Related Sites

• Joely Rodriguez on mlb.com
• BR Minors page