Joely RodrÃÂguez Sánchez (born November 14, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox. He has also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons.
RodrÃÂguez signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates for a $55,000 signing bonus in March 2009. He spent the 2009 season with the DSL Pirates, going 2âÂÂ5 with a 4.60 ERA over 47 innings.
He split the 2010 season between the GCL Pirates and the State College Spikes, going a combined 2âÂÂ2 with a 4.21 ERA over innings. He spent the 2011 season (most of which he missed with an elbow stress reaction and appendicitis) and 2012 season back with State College. He split the 2013 season between the West Virginia Power and the Bradenton Marauders, going a combined 9âÂÂ8 with a 2.70 ERA over 140 innings. He was added to the team's 40-man roster on November 20, 2013. He spent the 2014 season with the Altoona Curve, going 6âÂÂ11 with a 4.84 ERA over 134 innings.
On December 10, 2014, the Pirates traded RodrÃÂguez to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Antonio Bastardo. He split the 2015 season between the Reading Fightin Phils and Lehigh Valley IronPigs, going a combined 7âÂÂ10 with a 6.12 ERA over innings. He split the 2016 minor league season between the Clearwater Threshers, Reading, and LeHigh Valley, going a combined 7âÂÂ0 with a 2.35 ERA over innings. He made his major league debut on September 11, 2016. He produced a 2.79 ERA over 9 innings for the Phillies in 2016. In 2017, he posted a 1âÂÂ2 record with a 6.33 ERA over 27 innings for the Phillies.
On June 13, 2017, RodrÃÂguez was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later. He spent the remainder of the 2017 season with the Round Rock Express, posting a 2âÂÂ0 record with a 6.33 ERA over 27 innings.
On November 28, 2017, RodrÃÂguez signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He opened the 2018 season with the Norfolk Tides, going 5âÂÂ2 with a 4.56 ERA over innings. On July 19, 2018, RodrÃÂguez opted out of his minor league contract, making him a free agent.
On July 25, 2018, RodrÃÂguez signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball on a $270,000 contract. On September 15, 2018, RodrÃÂguez broke the NPB velocity record for a southpaw pitcher throwing down a pitch against the Hiroshima Carp previously beating the record set by Yusei Kikuchi in 2016. He produced a 0âÂÂ3 record with a 2.30 ERA over innings in 2018.
RodrÃÂguez re-signed with the Dragons for the 2019 season. He posted a 3âÂÂ4 record with a 1.64 ERA and 77 strikeouts in innings in 2019. On December 2, 2019, he become free agent.
RodrÃÂguez signed a two-year contract, with a team option, with the Texas Rangers on December 16, 2019. In his first season with Texas, he registered an ERA of 2.13 in 12 games.
In 2021 he was 1-3 with a 5.93 ERA. On June 23, 2021, he did pick up his first major league save in a 5-3 Rangers victory over the A's.
On July 29, 2021, the Rangers traded RodrÃÂguez and Joey Gallo to the New York Yankees for Josh Smith, Glenn Otto, Trevor Hauver, and Ezequiel Duran. He pitched to a 1âÂÂ0 record and a 2.84 ERA in 21 appearances for the Yankees. In total in the 2021 season, he was 2-3 with a 4.66 ERA. After the 2021 season, the Yankees declined his $3 million option for the 2022 season, but signed him to a contract for $2 million.
On April 3, 2022, the Yankees traded RodrÃÂguez to the New York Mets for Miguel Castro. On April 29, 2022, RodrÃÂguez pitched in relief in a combined no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies, pitching 1 inning. He ranked in the 95th percentile for average exit velocity, 95th percentile for barrel percentage, and 94th percentile for chase rate in 2022. He was 2-4 with a 4.47 ERA.
On November 23, 2022, the Boston Red Sox signed RodrÃÂguez to a one-year contract with a club option for the 2024 season. He began the 2023 season on the injured list with a right oblique strain, and was activated on May 15. RodrÃÂguez spent a month on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation, from early June until being activated on July 8. On July 31, he was again placed on the injured list, due to right hip inflammation; in mid-August, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said RodrÃÂguez could miss the remainder of the season, which ultimately was the case. Overall, RodrÃÂguez was limited to 11 innings with the Red Sox, allowing nine runs (eight earned) while striking out 14 battersâÂÂthe Red Sox declined his 2024 option in early November, making him a free agent.
On February 22, 2024, RodrÃÂguez re-signed with the Red Sox on a minor league contract. On March 22, RodrÃÂguez triggered the optâÂÂout clause in his contract, giving Boston 48 hours to add him to their roster or release him. Two days later, the Red Sox announced that he had made their Opening Day roster. He was the only left-hander on the Red Sox pitching roster. In 11 appearances for Boston, he struggled to a 6.55 ERA with 11 strikeouts across 11 innings pitched. RodrÃÂguez was designated for assignment by Boston following the promotion of Naoyuki Uwasawa on April 28. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the TripleâÂÂA Worcester Red Sox on May 2. On August 23, the Red Sox selected RodrÃÂguez's contract, adding him back to their active roster. After three appearances, he was designated for assignment a second time on August 26. RodrÃÂguez elected free agency on August 29.