All the Tigers can do is wait. Eduardo Rodriguez will let them know if and when he's ready to rejoin the team after taking a leave this week to attend to a reported marital issue, a decision that sent him to the restricted list.
Asked if he expects the Tigers Opening Day starter to come back this season, A.J. Hinch said Wednesday on the Stoney & Jansen Show, "I hope he comes back."
"We continue to support him. Obviously players are people, too, and personal matters are real in our lives even though we wear a uniform. And certainly the players (have a) work-life balance that they need," said Hinch.
Rodriguez was expected to be the leader of the Tigers' rotation after joining the club on a five-year, $77 million deal this offseason. The money, he said, was too good to pass up for "me and my family." Rodriguez, 29, has two young children with his wife Catherine.
But the veteran lefty struggled through his first eight starts, then landed on the injured list in May with a ribcage injury. Just when he looked ready to return, buoyed by a dominant rehab start last week for Triple-A Toledo, Rodriguez informed the Tigers he needed time off. They placed him on the restricted list Monday; he won't be paid or count toward the club's 40-man roster for the duration of his absence.
"That’s a contractual relationship between the club and the player," said Hinch. "On the personal side of it, we’re just going to continue to support him. It is personal in nature and that’s why I wish people would stay out of it. We judge the players, we judge the uniform, we judge the performance, we want to get to know the players. Sometimes players need things to be personal and private, and this is obviously the case for him.
"We support him, I’ve been in touch with him, but I don’t know what’s next for him. I hope it includes coming back and pitching for us."
Rodriguez was the Tigers' biggest free agent acquisition on the mound since Jordan Zimmermann in 2015. He was set to make about $95,000 per game this season and, assuming full health, about $500,000 per start. That's what he'll be forfeiting until he returns, assuming he returns at all.
"We need him," said Hinch. "We signed him for a reason."
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