The Eduardo Rodriguez Situation.

[1776]

12 minutes ago, casimir said:

I don’t understand this angle either.  Outside of the principle parties, it’s an unknown issue at this time.  But people like to make assumptions, so here we are.

It keeps the day moving along. Assumptions make the world go ‘round. 

[mtutiger]

45 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Where is everyone getting that he doesn't want to play anymore?  Did I miss that story?  

There is little to no new information about ERod, to the extent there is any it is that Avila came out and said that there has been no communication with the team.

The reasons for him being gone may be entirely valid (I tend to believe they are more valid than the average Tiger fan seems to)... but nature abhors a vacuum, so in the absence of information, people are gonna speculate and fill in the blanks as they see fit.

Edited July 12, 2022 by mtutiger

[chasfh]

48 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Where is everyone getting that he doesn't want to play anymore?  Did I miss that story?  

I don't think everyone here is concluding that, although it's still within the range of outcomes.

Edited July 12, 2022 by chasfh

[gehringer_2]

42 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Where is everyone getting that he doesn't want to play anymore?  Did I miss that story?  

Because unless the guy has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom, you would not think he would be doing so much to torpedo any chance he has of being offered the chance to get paid in the majors in the future. It may an assumption, but it’s a pretty decent one. There just aren’t that many possible circumstances that would preclude him at least communicating. And the league has established diversion channels for things like substance abuse. So I’m guessing this does have to be either something really weird, which is what makes it interesting (possibly), or he just doesn’t want to play for Det., which would be irritating. 
 

And might also reflect back on FO incompetence for not having done adequate homework. 

[mtutiger]

1 minute ago, chasfh said:

I don't think anyone here is concluding that, although it's still within the range of outcomes.

From a PR perspective, I don't quite understand ERod's strategy here. I can get treating it like a private matter and even that fans aren't entitled to intimate details. And whatever arrangement to handle whatever matters at hand are between the employer and employee. I'm cool with that.

But Al coming out and saying that he's keeping the team in the dark, that is really unprofessional. And Al giving a "no comment" answer on the possibility of voiding the contract suggests to me that the Tigers are pretty frustrated behind the scenes.

It is the kind of behavior that suggests indifference about coming back, but we don't have enough information to know for sure what is going on.

[mtutiger]

6 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Because unless the guy has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom, you would not think he would be doing so much to torpedo any chance he has of being offered the chance to get paid in the majors in the future. It may an assumption, but it’s a pretty decent one. There just aren’t that many possible circumstances that would preclude him at least communicating. And the league has established diversion channels for things like substance abuse. So I’m guessing this does have to be either something really weird, which is what makes it interesting (possibly), or he just doesn’t want to play for Det., which would be irritating. 

At the risk of speculating a little, a marriage is a two way street... IOW, if it were substance abuse, there is a possibility that it may not be ERod who is having the problems.

I kinda go back to AJ's comment a few weeks back about him being home with his kids... it may have been a throwaway line, but it opens that door as a possibility imo.

IDK enough about league rules to know whether spouses are covered the same as players in terms of those issues. But just in general when I see speculation about whatever problems are going on, it seems centered purely on the player. We just don't know enough information to really get a read IMO.

Edited July 12, 2022 by mtutiger

[chasfh]

Just now, mtutiger said:

From a PR perspective, I don't quite understand ERod's strategy here. I can get treating it like a private matter and even that fans aren't entitled to intimate details. And whatever arrangement to handle whatever matters at hand are between the employer and employee. I'm cool with that.

But Al coming out and saying that he's keeping the team in the dark, that is really unprofessional. And Al giving a "no comment" answer on the possibility of voiding the contract suggests to me that the Tigers are pretty frustrated behind the scenes.

It is the kind of behavior that suggests indifference about coming back, but we don't have enough information to know for sure what is going on.

I agree that talking about Rodriguez that way to the press looks unprofessional, and I am wondering what Al was trying to accomplish. He may have made those comments as a bull in a china shop, cluelessly and without thinking and unconcerned of the effects, which some might conclude. Or, maybe Al was trying to send a message to Rodriguez and his agent along the lines of, "hey, we're embarrassing you here, you can put a stop to that by getting back to us." That could be considered unprofessional in its own way, too, but at least there would be a point behind it.

I think it's also possible that Al was laying some public groundwork for Ilitch to terminate the contract, whether in advance of petitioning Baseball (and the Players) to simply allow us to void it, or perhaps as a ploy to create more favorable terms for settling it for an undisclosed amount that's more in the Tigers' favor. If the Tigers can in a public way successfully portray Rodriguez as being continually unresponsive to them, that may strengthen their case to have the contract simply voided without penalty to them.

[1776]

10 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

 

And might also reflect back on FO incompetence for not having done adequate homework. 

If there is a dead horse to beat, this is it. This more than anything else is what should be discussed front and center. The guy gets a five year deal and you can’t even communicate with him less than three months into the first year first year of the contract. What a cluster. If Al says he knows details but can’t discuss, fine. However, when your GM sits there and publicly states he doesn’t know shit about the guys whereabouts….bad. 

[mtutiger]

7 minutes ago, 1776 said:

If there is a dead horse to beat, this is it. This more than anything else is what should be discussed front and center. The guy gets a five year deal and you can’t even communicate with him less than three months into the first year first year of the contract. What a cluster. If Al says he knows details but can’t discuss, fine. However, when your GM sits there and publicly states he doesn’t know shit about the guys whereabouts….bad. 

I guess I'm not aware of how any team looking to sign ERod would have anticipated this situation happening.

It seems like another flavor of "The Rays knew Austin Meadows had vertigo" to me... and that was street rat crazy lol

[Tiger337]

30 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Because unless the guy has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom, you would not think he would be doing so much to torpedo any chance he has of being offered the chance to get paid in the majors in the future. It may an assumption, but it’s a pretty decent one. There just aren’t that many possible circumstances that would preclude him at least communicating. And the league has established diversion channels for things like substance abuse. So I’m guessing this does have to be either something really weird, which is what makes it interesting (possibly), or he just doesn’t want to play for Det., which would be irritating. 
 

And might also reflect back on FO incompetence for not having done adequate homework. 

My guess is that there is something going on in his life right now that is more important to him than baseball and adding more millions.  

[SoCalTiger]

42 minutes ago, mtutiger said:

At the risk of speculating a little, a marriage is a two way street... IOW, if it were substance abuse, there is a possibility that it may not be ERod who is having the problems.

I kinda go back to AJ's comment a few weeks back about him being home with his kids... it may have been a throwaway line, but it opens that door as a possibility imo.

IDK enough about league rules to know whether spouses are covered the same as players in terms of those issues. But just in general when I see speculation about whatever problems are going on, it seems centered purely on the player. We just don't know enough information to really get a read IMO.

It’s very possible you are correct and it makes lots of sense. A wife or child in peril would be something a person would forego their career for but not something the employer would compensate for. 

[1776]

24 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

My guess is that there is something going on in his life right now that is more important to him than baseball and adding more millions.  

That may well be the case, clearly something is. He may be sitting at home watching Flintstone re-runs. All good. My issue is with the fact (provided AA is telling the truth) there is no communication. If Al Avila is being truthful in his message to the media, the problem lies with ERod and his agent. As a freakin’ common courtesy at least just notify the Tigers, the employer, that he isn’t coming back, no details needed. Problem solved. The team plugged this guy in as the #1 starter and he leaves the team early in the season.
If we weren’t talking about the Tigers I probably wouldn’t believe it. 

Edited July 12, 2022 by 1776

[Tiger337]

24 minutes ago, 1776 said:

That may well be the case, clearly something is. He may be sitting at home watching Flintstone re-runs. All good. My issue is with the fact (provided AA is telling the truth) there is no communication. If Al Avila is being truthful in his message to the media, the problem lies with ERod and his agent. As a freakin’ common courtesy at least just notify the Tigers, the employer, that he isn’t coming back, no details needed. Problem solved. The team plugged this guy in as the #1 starter and he leaves the team early in the season.
If we weren’t talking about the Tigers I probably wouldn’t believe it. 

I get the feeling that Avila and Hinch know more than they are telling us.  

[1984Echoes]

2 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Where is everyone getting that he doesn't want to play anymore?  Did I miss that story?  

 

This what started that conjecture:

 

On 7/10/2022 at 9:59 PM, romad1 said:

I caught this nugget from some twitter poster

Shaka's post translated says this

 

 

EDIT: Somehow the translation didn't carry over but it's in Romad's post. Basically: "Every time things aren't going well, Eduardo gets an "injury".

After reading this... I thought "He gets a "fake injury" every time things aren't going well?"

And: "Is that what he's doing right now? Incommunicado. No real injury... does he just not love the game anymore?"

It's simple conjecture...

But no communication from him or his agent?

Could be anything.

Even this.

Edited July 12, 2022 by 1984Echoes

[Tiger337]

6 minutes ago, 1984Echoes said:

 

This what started that conjecture:

 

 

EDIT: Somehow the translation didn't carry over but it's in Romad's post. Basically: "Every time things aren't going well, Eduardo gets an "injury".

After reading this... I thought "He gets a "fake injury" every time things aren't going well?"

And: "Is that what he's doing right now? Incommunicado. No real injury... does he just not love the game anymore?"

It's simple conjecture...

But no communication from him or his agent?

Could be anything.

Even this.

Fake injuries..Is he the Venezuelan Adduci?  

[casimir]

Maybe he has an allergy to ping pong tables that has not been diagnosed?

[casimir]

4 hours ago, 1776 said:

It keeps the day moving along. Assumptions make the world go ‘round. 

That’s a fact.

[Motor City Sonics]

The Car Shield commercial with "Akil Badoo, what are you doing in my car?"...........then Riley Greene is in the back seat..................Eduardo's in the trunk, man.  

[chasfh]

6 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

I get the feeling that Avila and Hinch know more than they are telling us.  

I do too. I think there's a decent chance that everybody in the triangle of Al Avila, Eduardo Rodriguez and Rodriguez’s agent knows where the other two are and what's going on with them, and that we're the ones who have no idea.

[LongLiveMaroth]

The Athletic had a good write up about it but from my understanding everyone is pretty much in the same boat as us, here is a quick excerpt I found interesting.

https://theathletic.com/3424956/2022/07/15/eduardo-rodriguez-tigers-contract

Although it’s possible Rodriguez could return to the team, the uncertainty creates questions as the Tigers assemble their roster for the future.

Jeff Fannell is one of the leading sports labor attorneys in the industry. He declined to comment on the particulars of this case for a valid reason: He works with Mato Sports Management and is advising Mato on Rodriguez. That’s an indication Rodriguez’s camp is preparing for whatever might happen next.

“As you may imagine, on several levels this is a sensitive situation,” Fannell wrote in an email.

This situation is more difficult to assess than most, given how little has been made public about Rodriguez’s circumstance, and how unusual it is.

“I don’t remember scenarios like this,” said Ed Edmonds, a professor emeritus at Notre Dame who has done extensive research on MLB labor issues. “This seems very unique to me.”

Do the Tigers even have appropriate grounds to consider voiding Rodriguez’s contract?

“The short answer is it depends,” Lust said.

[Tenacious D]

6 minutes ago, LongLiveMaroth said:

The Athletic had a good write up about it but from my understanding everyone is pretty much in the same boat as us, here is a quick excerpt I found interesting.

https://theathletic.com/3424956/2022/07/15/eduardo-rodriguez-tigers-contract

Although it’s possible Rodriguez could return to the team, the uncertainty creates questions as the Tigers assemble their roster for the future.

Jeff Fannell is one of the leading sports labor attorneys in the industry. He declined to comment on the particulars of this case for a valid reason: He works with Mato Sports Management and is advising Mato on Rodriguez. That’s an indication Rodriguez’s camp is preparing for whatever might happen next.

“As you may imagine, on several levels this is a sensitive situation,” Fannell wrote in an email.

This situation is more difficult to assess than most, given how little has been made public about Rodriguez’s circumstance, and how unusual it is.

“I don’t remember scenarios like this,” said Ed Edmonds, a professor emeritus at Notre Dame who has done extensive research on MLB labor issues. “This seems very unique to me.”

Do the Tigers even have appropriate grounds to consider voiding Rodriguez’s contract?

“The short answer is it depends,” Lust said.

Even if we can successfully void, it’s not a win.  There is an opportunity loss, considering we might have acquired a different starter last offseason, not to mention having to surrender our 3rd round pick next week.

[Stanley70]

It's not a win overall, but at this point if the contract was voided at this point it would be the best outcome for the Tigers.

 

Sooner or later I would think they will be able to legally void the deal if he has decided to not show up. Unless there is an underlying reason he can prove that is preventing him from honoring his contract. Didn't Uwe Krupps situation go on for years while he was "injured"? The Tigers need to move on building a team and they could argue not knowing what Eduardo intends to do is preventing them knowing how much debt they have.

[clark1mt]

6 hours ago, Stanley70 said:

It's not a win overall, but at this point if the contract was voided at this point it would be the best outcome for the Tigers.

 

Sooner or later I would think they will be able to legally void the deal if he has decided to not show up. Unless there is an underlying reason he can prove that is preventing him from honoring his contract. Didn't Uwe Krupps situation go on for years while he was "injured"? The Tigers need to move on building a team and they could argue not knowing what Eduardo intends to do is preventing them knowing how much debt they have.

Voiding the contract would really only be necessary if the team thought he might decide to return at some point and don't want him back; otherwise, they could just leave him on the Restricted List, not pay him, AND he couldn't play for another team. I don't know if it would still count against payroll for CBT purposes, though.

[UCFKNIGHT]

I believe Detroit should be allowed to void Eduardo Rodriguez’s contract. I just hope MLB doesn’t allow him(Rodriguez) to pitch for another team in 2023, 2024 or 2025. Im not sure if MLB can suspend a player for that length of time, however I believe it would be unfair to the Tigers if Rodriguez was allowed to sign and pitch for any other team in 2023. At some point, I’m sure the MLB players association will get involved in this mess.

[Hart]

10 hours ago, clark1mt said:

Voiding the contract would really only be necessary if the team thought he might decide to return at some point and don't want him back; otherwise, they could just leave him on the Restricted List, not pay him, AND he couldn't play for another team. I don't know if it would still count against payroll for CBT purposes, though.

This is kind of what I was thinking too.  If he wants to come back and the Tigers don't want him back, then there is an issue.  But at this point,  he is saving the Tigers $38,356 each day he doesn't show up for work.  My guess it the Tigers are okay with that right now.  This year has gone worse than expected on the field and I think the Tigers are probably more interested in saving the money.  

If he wants to come back in the offseason, I think you just take him back.  The contract isn't a bargain but it isn't terrible either.