CHICAGO — Eduardo Rodriguez is all but ready to come back into the Tigers’ rotation.
On the restricted list since June 14, leaving the team to deal with marital issues, he covered five shutout innings in 53 pitches in his rehab start with Toledo on Thursday night.
“He got the extra up (inning) which was great,” manager AJ Hinch said before Friday's game. “He felt great. (Pitching coach Chris) Fetter talked to him this morning and all reports are good.”
Hinch said Rodriguez will make another start for Toledo in Columbus on Tuesday and, barring any setbacks, could be ready to rejoin the active roster.
The question now is, how will he be welcomed back by his teammates? Will it be weird? Miguel Cabrera went through extremely public marital distress in 2019 and continued to play. Will Rodriguez have to address the team?
“Weird? No,” catcher Tucker Barnhart said. “We want him back. Everyone wants him back. I don’t think anybody owes anyone anything in terms of family issues. I don’t think that needs to be laid out there for everyone. It’s not something I think needs to be said.”
That seemed to be the consensus.
“You never know what guys in the clubhouse are going through,” said reliever Joe Jimenez, the second-longest tenured Tigers player after Cabrera. “Outside of here, people only see what they see out there (on the field). We’ve got lives. We’ve got families that we need to take care of.
“And we’re not from this country, either, so we’ve got family back home, too. It’s a tough situation.”
The Tigers signed Rodriguez to a five-year, $77 million contract this offseason and he has not been paid while he’s on the restricted list. He’s made eight starts for the Tigers this season.
Until last month, there was no communication between Rodriguez and the club.
But once he made contact, once Hinch and Fetter drew up a plan for his return, he’s been on a fast track back.
“Listen, I’ve gone through things myself,” Jimenez said. “Maybe I don’t show it in here. But everybody has problems. When he comes back, it’s his decision if he wants to talk about it. If he doesn’t, we will just help him as much as we can and see what happens.”
Several players said they didn’t need to hear any explanations or apologies. They just wanted to welcome him back.
“He is our teammate,” Jeimer Candelario said. “We support our teammates. Whatever decision he makes, it’s his decision. But we’re here to support him. We’re going to be there for him, whatever he wants to do.
“He can just come here and help us win ballgames.”
Jimenez said he didn’t know the full extent of Rodriguez’s issues and he doubted anybody in the clubhouse did.
“We are in a business where everything we do comes out,” he said. “If it’s something that’s really inside that we don’t have to know, then it’s totally fine. We are going to support him and help him as much as we can.
“We’re not mad. Stuff happens. I bet he didn’t want to go through what he’s gone through. It’s hard for everybody.”
