Red Sox Notes: Eduardo Rodriguez has a ‘dead arm’ but optimism lives on

If 2021 is going to be the season Boston Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez proves he’s a legit front-end of the rotation pitcher, he will have to overcome yet another injury and setback to demonstrate on the mound that he is the real deal.

Initially announced as the team’s Opening Day starter, Rodriguez has been scratched according to Red Sox manager Alex Cora due to what the club is describing as a “dead arm.”

The announcement came just a couple days after Rodriguez pitched just two innings in a Grapefruit League start.  Just precaution or is there a more serious injury lurking?

According to Cora, it’s more of making sure their early season No. 1 starter is as strong as possible heading into the 2021 MLB season.

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"“He didn’t feel as strong as the previous outings, arm-wise; shoulder, arm, there’s nothing specific there,” Cora said, via MLB.com.  “He pushed hard for [Opening Day], but I think the smart thing from my end is to play it smart, take the decision out of the player.  We made the decision for him.”"

This now makes back-to-back seasons in which Rodriguez was scratched after being named the Opening Day start.  Of course, in 2020, he ended up missing the entire season due to Covid-related complications.

The Red Sox are hopeful the “dead arm” is just a matter of rest, but when it comes to the luck of E-Rod over the past few seasons, the optimism isn’t high, but it is still there as Cora highlighted in his conversation with Rodriguez about being pulled as the Opening Day starter.

"“He took it as a profession,” Cora continued.  “I think the communication is very clear, very genuine.  For him to accept it, think about the future and not the first game of the season is a testament to who he is right now as a pitcher, as a person, as a leader on this team.”"

If the Boston Red Sox are going to make some noise in 2021, they will need Rodriguez to have the type of season he did in 2019 when he went 19-6 with a 3.81 ERA.  They will also need the depth of their starting pitching rotation to step up.

Red Sox hard-throwing righty Nathan Eovaldi gets the Opening Day nod

In place of Eduardo Rodriguez, Cora has named Nathan Eovaldi as the Opening Day starter against the Baltimore Orioles.

Like Rodriguez, Eovaldi is entering the 2021 MLB season with something to prove as a front-end start.

Coming off a 2020 season in which he went 4-2 with a 3.72 ERA in nine starts, Eovaldi is out to prove he can be a consistent starting pitcher for the Red Sox and every much worth the four-year, $68 million contract he signed with the club prior to the 2019 season.

So, the pressure is really on Eovaldi to set the tone for the season in which a strong performance on the mound would ingrain optimism for the season and really get the entire starting rotation pumped to step up in their own spots.

While the main question heading into the season will be the health of Rodriguez, the Red Sox are at least in better position than they were in 2020 because they do have some depth with the return of Martin Perez and the addition of Garrett Richards.  They also have young starters like Tanner Houck and Connor Seabold as options as well as Nick Pivetta and swingman Matt Andriese who also offers back-end rotation depth.

In all, a “dead arm” to start the season doesn’t mean the season is already dead for the 2021 Boston Red Sox.