Yariel Rodríguez

Yariel Humberto Rodríguez Yordi
(El Gallero de San Saperio)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.

• Debut April 13, 2024

• Born March 10, 1997 in Camagüey, Camagüey Cuba

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Biographical Information

Yariel Rodríguez has pitched for the Cuban national team and in Japan.

He debuted for the Ganaderos de Camaguey in 2015-2016, going 0-5 with a save but a 2.35 ERA. In 2016-2017, he was 5-5 with 2 saves and a 3.61 ERA. One issue was his control as he walked 54 in 94 2/3 IP. He was 7th in the Serie Nacional with 64 strikeouts (between Dachel Duquesne and Liván Moinelo), 8th in WHIP (1.31, between Alaín Sánchez and Erly Casanova, 10th in ERA but first in walks (3 ahead of teammate José Rodríguez). He was 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA for Cuba in the Canadian-American Association though he walked 15 in 23 innings.

He was 6-3 with a 2.88 ERA for the Ganaderos in the first half of 2017-2018; when the team did not qualify for the second half, he was picked up by Las Tunas and went 3-1 with a 3.58 ERA for them. He got the nod in game 7 of the finals but was outpitched by Granma's Sánchez. He finished among the league leaders in shutouts (4, 5th), wins (tied for 7th with Sánchez, Vladimir García and Jonder Martínez) and walks (49, 4th).

Rodríguez debuted for the Cuban national team in the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games; the 21-year-old was the team's youngest pitcher (Yoelkis Céspedes was the only position player younger). He saw their least action with 1 IP (Casanova was next at 2) and his 9.00 ERA easily led a team with a staff ERA of 2.08 (Casanova was next at 4.50). In his lone game for the Silver Medal winners, he relieved Sánchez in the 7th with a 6-1 deficit against Gold Medal winner Puerto Rico. He gave up three hits, a walk and a run in his inning of work before Casanova closed it out.

He played for the Cuban national team in the Can-Am Association in 2019, then moved to the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Pro Baseball's Central League in 2020. He pitched three seasons for Chunichi, with the final one in 2022 being the best as he went6-2, 1.15 in 56 games as a reliever. In the meantime, he also appeared with Camaguey in the 2020-21 Cuban League season and then was selected to represent Cuba in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, making two starts in the event. However, he did not return to Japan after the tournament, becoming a defector, as his ultimate goal was to pitch in Major League Baseball. This became more feasible when he was declared a free agent by MLB.

On January 17, 2024, it was reported that he had come to an agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays on a multi-year contract, although details were not immediately available. The deal was made official on February 9th, and it was for five years and $32 million. He started the season in AAA, given his lack of recent mound work, but he was called up to Toronto after a couple of weeks, after he had made two starts and not allowed any runs in 6 1/3 innings for the Buffalo Bisons, as the Jays knew that his innings would by necessity be restricted that season and did not want to see too many of them spent against minor league batters. He made his debut on April 13th, starting at home against the Colorado Rockies and went 3 2/3 innings, allowing just one run, before reaching his pitch count limit of 70. In his second start, against the San Diego Padres on April 19th, he struck out seven batters over four innings in a 5-1 win. This time, he made 83 pitches before once again Bowden Francis succeeded him on the mound, and once again received credit for the win that Yariel had forged.

He throws a fastball in the low 90s, a slider and a changeup.

Further Reading

• Keegan Matheson: "Cuban RHP Yariel Rodríguez agrees to deal with Blue Jays", mlb.com, January 17, 2024. [1]
• Keegan Matheson: "Blue Jays announce 5-year deal with Cuban righty Rodríguez", mlb.com, February 9, 2024. [2]
• Keegan Matherson: "Blue Jays to summon Cuban signee Yariel Rodríguez", mlb.com, April 12, 2024. [3]
• Keegan Matheson: "Emotional Yariel Rodríguez 'electric' in MLB debut", mlb.com, April 13, 2024. [4]

Related Sites

• Yariel Rodríguez on mlb.com
• BR Register page