Christopher Joseph Rodriguez (born July 20, 1998) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), 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, ...

in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

Career

Rodriguez attended

Monsignor Edward Pace High School Monsignor Edward Pace High School is a Catholic secondary school in the Opa-locka North neighborhood of Miami Gardens, Florida. It was named a Blue Ribbon School in 2002 and one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the country in 2004 and 200 ...

Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of Greater Downtown Miami, downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from Interstate 95 in Florida, I-95 and N ...

Los Angeles Angels

Minor leagues

Rodriguez was drafted by the

in the fourth round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. He made his professional debut with the rookie–level

Arizona League Angels The Arizona Complex League Angels are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Te ...

, recording a 1.59 ERA with 17 strikeouts across innings pitched. In 2017, Rodriguez split the season between the rookie–level

Orem Owlz The Orem Owlz were a Minor League Baseball team located in Orem, Utah, United States, from 2001 to 2020. The team competed in the Pioneer League as a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The Owlz played their home games at Home o ...

and Single–A

Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Baseball' ...

. In 14 total starts, he registered a 5–3 record and 6.16 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 57.0 innings of work. Rodriguez missed all of the 2018 season and most of the 2019 season due to a back injury. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Major leagues

On November 20, 2020, the Angels added Rodriguez 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, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. On April 2, 2021, Rodriguez made his MLB debut in relief against the

, pitching two innings with three strikeouts. On May 6, he was placed on the 10-day injured list after experiencing shoulder inflammation. On June 4, Rodriguez was activated from the injured list and made his return 3 days later in relief against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. He was sent down to double-A Rocket City on June 21 after putting up a 9.00 ERA since returning from his shoulder injury. On August 2, 2021, Rodriguez was called back up to the major league roster, making his first career start against the Texas Rangers. He pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 runs and striking out 7 batters. Rodriguez would later be optioned back and forth from the major league roster several times until August 14, 2021 when he was placed on the 7-day injured list while with the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

due to a lat strain, eventually shutting him down for the rest of the season. In 15 appearances, he posted a 2-1 record with a 3.65 ERA and 29 strikeouts. On November 8, 2021, it was announced that Rodriguez was expected to miss most of, if not all of the 2022 season after undergoing right capsule surgery. Rodriguez was placed on the 60-day injured list to begin the 2022 season, and was shut down in August without seeing game action on the year. In

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in 2023, Rodriguez faced live hitters for the first time since his surgery, but nonetheless began the season on the injured list. However, two weeks later he suffered a setback after experiencing renewed soreness in his right shoulder, and was transferred to the 60–day injured list on April 15, 2023. On September 11, Rodriguez returned and began a rehab assignment with the Single–A

Inland Empire 66ers The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The 66ers are based in San Bernardino, California, and play at San Manuel Stadium. Franchi ...

. In three games split between Inland Empire and Triple–A Salt Lake, he struggled to a 13.50 ERA with two strikeouts in innings of work. However, on September 29, manager

Phil Nevin Phillip Joseph Nevin (born January 19, 1971) is an American professional baseball infielder, coach, and manager. He was the manager for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for 12 seasons, appearing in 1,217 g ...

announced that Rodriguez had suffered another setback in his right shoulder.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On October 30, 2023, Rodriguez was claimed off waivers by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. On November 14, he was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

. Rodriguez split the 2024 season between the rookie-level

Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks The Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields a ...

, Double-A

Amarillo Sod Poodles The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtow ...

, and Triple-A Reno. In 36 appearances split between the three affiliates, he accumulated a 3-2 record and 4.84 ERA with 42 strikeouts across innings pitched. Rodriguez elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2024.

Chicago White Sox

On January 21, 2025, Rodriguez signed a minor league contract with the

.https://www.milb.com/transactions/2025-01-21

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Chris 1998 births Living people Amarillo Sod Poodles players Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks players Arizona League Angels players Burlington Bees players Charlotte Knights players Inland Empire 66ers players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Monsignor Edward Pace High School alumni Orem Owlz players Reno Aces players Rocket City Trash Pandas players Salt Lake Bees players Baseball players from Coral Springs, Florida 21st-century American sportsmen