RANGERS TRADE YERRY RODRIGUEZ TO JAYS

The Texas Rangers have traded pitcher Yerry Rodriguez to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league pitcher Josh Mollerus, the team announced today. Mollerus will be joining the high-A Hickory Crawdads.

Mollerus was a 10th round pick of the Jays in 2023 out of the University of Oregon. He was a fifth year senior, having spent four years at the University of San Francisco. Mollerus has been a reliever for most of his college career and has pitched exclusively in relief as a pro. In 29 innings for high-A Vancouver of the Northwest League, he has put up a 4.03 ERA with 43 Ks against 19 walks.

A 24 year old righthander, Mollerus, per BA, “has some intriguing traits. . .especially with how his fastball plays at the top of the zone.” He’s another bullpen arm the Rangers will sift through among a collection of others in the minors, sieving them to try to find a nugget.

Rodriguez, a 26 year old righthanded reliever, was designated for assignment earlier this week to make room on the 40 man roster for either Justin Foscue or Derek Hill, depending on your point of view. In 26 major league appearances over the past three years, he has put up a 7.11 ERA in 31.2 IP, striking out 28 and walking 17, with six home runs allowed.

Rodriguez stuck around this long because he was granted a fourth option for the 2024 season, but hasn’t dont much with the opportunity. He has a 6.08 ERA in 13 innings for Round Rock this year, and in 151 innings at AAA over the past four seasons, has put up a 5.42 ERA. He has shown major league stuff, but not consistently, and his command has been shaky, at best. The Jays will now see what they can do with him over the next three months.

2024-06-30T17:28:18Z dg43tfdfdgfd