The Tigers announced they are reinstating starting pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez from the restricted list on Friday to start vs. the Angels after a three-month absence due to personal issues.
Rodríguez implied that his issues were family-related, but he declined to go into much detail about the absence. He also said he is happy to be back competing with his teammates.
“My family is the one that really has my blood, which is my kids,” Rodríguez said, via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. “My second family is my teammates and everybody here in the organization. Those are the only ones that really have to know what really happened in my life.”
After signing a five-year, $77 million deal with Detroit in the offseason, Rodríguez began the year pitching to a 4.38 ERA in eight games. He last made a start against the Rays in May, after which he was put on the restricted list due to his personal issues.
At one point, Rodríguez wasn’t contacting the team while away, but about a month into the absence, the team was able to make contact.
Rodríguez mentioned that during his absence he worked with a psychologist to help him mentally prepare for his return.
“I feel good to go out there mentally, body wise, and in all those aspects to go out there and pitch,” he said, via The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen
