Manuel De Jesus Rodríguez (born August 6, 1996) is a Mexican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

Career

Leones de Yucatán

Rodríguez began his professional career in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

with the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team play its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in , , , ...

, playing for them from 2014 through 2016. He was named the 2015 Mexican League Rookie of the Year, after posting a 4–0 record with a 1.84 ERA over 49 innings.

Chicago Cubs

Rodríguez's contract was purchased by the

from Yucatán on July 21, 2016 for $400,000. He played for the

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays their ...

and the

South Bend Cubs The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium. The team was ...

in 2017, going a combined 1–0 with a 3.94 ERA over innings. He spent the 2018 season with South Bend, going 3–5 with a 7.59 ERA and 64 strikeouts over innings. He spent the 2019 season with the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which opene ...

, going 1–3 with a 3.45 ERA and 52 hits, 36 walks, and 65 strikeouts over 45 innings. Rodríguez was added to the Cubs 40-man roster after the 2019 season. He opened the 2021 season with the

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off I ...

and the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The Cubs play their ho ...

. In June 2021, Rodríguez was selected to play in the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National Le ...

. On July 30, 2021, Chicago promoted him to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that night, throwing a scoreless inning with two strikeouts in relief. In 2021 he was 3-3 with a 6.11 ERA with the major league team. In 20 games he pitched 17.2 innings, in which he gave up 18 runs, 12 earned. Rodríguez was placed on the injured list on April 14, 2022, with a right elbow strain. He was later transferred to the 60-day injured list on June 1. He was activated off of the injured list on August 26, and added to the active roster; Kervin Castro was sent down to Triple–A to clear active roster space for Rodríguez. On January 17, 2023, Rodríguez was designated for assignment by Chicago following the acquisition of Julian Merryweather. On January 23, Rodríguez cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Iowa. In 35 appearances for Iowa, he registered a 4.42 ERA with 56 strikeouts and 13 saves in innings pitched.

Tampa Bay Rays

On August 1, 2023, the Cubs traded Rodríguez,

Adrian Sampson Adrian David Sampson (born October 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers, and in the KBO League for the L ...

, and international free agent bonus pool space to the

in exchange for Josh Roberson. In 15 games for the Triple–A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened i ...

, he posted a 3.06 ERA with 24 strikeouts across innings of work. On November 6, 2023, the Rays added Rodríguez to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodríguez, Manuel 1996 births Living people Arizona Complex League Cubs players Cañeros de Los Mochis players Chicago Cubs players Eugene Emeralds players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Mexico Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball pitchers Leones de Yucatán players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players South Bend Cubs players Sportspeople from Mérida, Yucatán Tennessee Smokies players