Ex-Red Sox Eduardo Rodriguez Affirms Decision To Stay With Tigers

Former Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez reportedly was heading to the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers at Tuesday’s trade deadline until he vetoed the move.

Los Angeles was pursuing Rodriguez leading up to the deadline and almost acquired the left-hander, but he invoked his no-trade clause stopping the deal from taking place. The Dodgers were one of 10 teams in the 30-year-old’s contract clause.

Rodriguez staying with Detroit ultimately came as a shock and was especially surprising for Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts.

The former Red Sox pitcher opened up about why exactly he chose to stay with the Tigers rather than head to the National League West-leading Dodgers.

“I love the guys here, and I feel like they love me, too. … I know we have a really good team and we have a really good future over here with the young guys,” Rodriguez told MLB.com’s Jason Beck. “I want to be part of it and that’s why I decided to stay here too.”

Rodriguez, who can opt out of his five-year, $77 million contract at the end of this season, said he’s “going to be here (Detroit) for a long time,” per Detroit Free Press’s Evan Petzold.

“If I had a magic ball and could tell you what’s going to happen in the future, I would probably tell you right away,” Rodriguez told Petzold. “… I’d really love to stay here.”

Although it seems Rodriguez wants to stay with the Tigers for his teammates, there were also reports that the left-hander wanted to stay closer to his family on the East Coast.