PHOENIX — Major League teams stocked up on pitching Wednesday in the big league phase of the winter meeting draft of unprotected players.
The Diamondbacks have been looking for a starting pitcher and may have found it in Eduardo Rodriguez.
ESPN's Jeff Passan reports the D-backs and Rodriguez have agreed to a four-year contract worth around $20 million a year.
The D-backs did not have a fourth starter in the playoffs in 2023 but it wasn’t because of lack of effort at the trade deadline.
“We were buying. I chased every starting pitcher on the market. The cost was pretty expensive but now sitting here in the World Series, it kind of changes your perspective,” General Manager Mike Hazen said in a press conference after the last game of the World Series. He said adding an established starting pitcher is a top priority going into 2024.
Rodriguez spent the last two years of his career with the Detroit Tigers before opting out of the final three years and $49 million remaining on his contract to become a free agent.
After the news broke, the D-backs X account had one thing to say... "U Up?"
12Sports
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made the State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers also play at the Footprint. Phoenix has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Cactus Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall; and Cactus League Spring Training.
