It wasn't just a concern for his family or his comfort in Detroit that compelled Eduardo Rodriguez to nix a trade to the Dodgers at Tuesday's deadline, as Rodriguez said Wednesday. Rodriguez was also seeking "financial and contractual enhancements" in order to join one of the 10 clubs in his no-trade clause, according to The Athletic. When he did not receive them, Rodriguez shut the deal down.
One such enhancement proposed by Rodriguez's agent, Gene Mato, was an additional year at $20 million on E-Rod's contract if the left-hander were to decline his opt-out this offseason. His current deal has three years and $49 million remaining after this season.
In a statement released Wednesday night, Mato said that "once I was granted permission to speak with (the Dodgers) regarding the trade, we did our best to come up with a way to make it happen where everyone was comfortable with the outcome. Unfortunately, we just ran out of time.”
The Tigers and the Dodgers had reached an agreement Monday night on the exchange of players, per The Athletic. But talks "quickly went awry" between the Dodgers and Mato. That left the two clubs to pursue a three-team trade whereby the Tigers would have sent Rodriguez to one of the 19 teams outside his veto power, that team would have sent a starting pitcher of similar ilk to the Dodgers and the Dodgers would have sent the agreed-upon package of prospects to the Tigers.
The AL Central rival Twins were one of "four or five teams involved in such discussions." But talks never got very far given their inherent complexity and their proximity to Tuesday's 6 p.m. deadline.
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So Rodriguez, 30, will remain a Tiger for at least the rest of this season. He said Wednesday that he'd "like to stay here," where "I'm happy with my teammates and everything with the organization."
"I know we have a really good future here with all the young guys, so I want to be part of it," Rodriguez said. "That’s why I decided to stay here, too."
Rodriguez also said he can't predict the future. Barring an injury or collapse down the stretch, it's still highly unlikely that he opts in to the rest of his deal when he could potentially double his earnings by going back to free agency. The Tigers had a chance to trade him and his career-low ERA, and couldn't get it done.
Now the ball is back in E-Rod's court.
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