Braves Wandy Rodriguez: From Failed Physical to 4th Starter

January 13, 2015

To say that this Philadelphia-born sarcasm was dripping like a bad paint job in a rainstorm would be a huge understatement:

"Wandy Rodriguez will not be a Philadelphia Phillie. Try to dry your tears and stifle your bitter disappointment."

At that time, Rodriguez had an agreement in place to go to Philadelphia for this season…. pending the physical, of course.  But on the same date that this report came to light, the Braves swooped in and signed him themselves… and he passed their medical check.

Let’s see… do the Phillies need any pitching?  That same post also said this:

"Well, they have Cole Hamels (for now) and Cliff Lee, and then a steeeeeep drop-off leads us to Jerome Williams and Aaron Harang."

…and that was before pulling Cliff Lee out of the equation – possibly permanantly.

One almost wonder if the Phils doctors accidentally switched medical records of Lee and Rodriguez, given that Wandy was actually pitching in the Dominican Republic this past Winter?  Just a thought.

Fast Forward to March 20

Further reports from last night’s broadcast crew further indicated that Rodriguez’ start against the Marlins on Friday evening was not a “make-or-break” outing – that the 4th slot was “pretty much” his.

So naturally, Wandy went out and dominated:  5 innings, 80 pitches (49 for strikes), zero hits, three walks and seven strikeouts – including Giancarlo Stanton twice.

That makes a Spring total of 13 innings, 6 hits, 1 run allows (during his first inning of work), a 0.69 ERA and 1.08 WHIP.

How’s that working for you, Philadelphia?

Nice as that all is, we should pump the brakes slightly:  there was reason for the Phils to have concern.  After throwing 190+ innings from 2009-2012, he missed most of 2013-14 (roughly 100 innings total at all levels) with a variety of injuries, the last being persistent forearm tightness in late 2014.  In mid-August, he had visited Dr. James Andrews who found tendinitis in the left elbow, but no structural issues.

Nonetheless, he apparently felt well enough to throw this past Winter for Aguilas in the Dominican Republic (along with teammates Sugar Ray Marimon and Donnie Veal).  He went just 7 innings, but the numbers were consistent with his Spring work thus far:  1 run allowed, 2 walks, 6 K.

But it’s still just 20 innings since being shut down by the Pirates.  The regular season is (obviously) much longer.  I would have to wonder if the Braves might consider holding his future Spring starts to no more than the current 5 innings – just to save him a bit for the regular season.

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There has been a lot of chatter about flipping Rodriguez in a trade deal, and sure:  there are circumstances in which that might happen.

But at this stage of the season, that is not the primary focus

.  Instead, you are trying to find a roster that works, and pitching that you can count on.  With

sidelined for a few weeks, that means that the depth John Hart has acquired comes into play.

Today, one of those side bets has indeed paid off:  Wandy Rodriguez is a member of the Braves starting rotation.

Regardless of how this will end up, it’s a nice story any time we can get a dig in at the Phillies.