Red Sox shut down Eduardo Rodriguez due to issues recovering from COVID-19
By Mike Luciano
Eduardo Rodriguez will not see the field for the Red Sox anytime soon.
The Boston Red Sox were expecting Eduardo Rodriguez to ride in on a white horse and save their pitching staff following his struggles with the COVID-19 virus, but all of that excitement and optimism has been sucked right out of the air now that Rodriguez’s body is starting to fail him.
Manager Ron Roenicke confirmed that Rodriguez, who was already expected to miss Opening Day, has some “lingering effects” that forced the Red Sox to shut him down dow a few weeks.
Red Sox have discovered some “minor complications” with Eduardo Rodriguez and will shut him down from baseball activities.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 23, 2020
Roenicke added that these are likely related to the fact that Rodriguez is just getting over a COVID-19 infection. While the Red Sox think the complications are “mild“, they are still being very cautious with him for obvious reasons.
Roenicke vague but says these are lingering effects of COVID-19. Says it’s not something that’s unique to Rodriguez. Will be shut down for a week.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 23, 2020
Eduardo Rodriguez is coming off of the best season of his career.
Rodriguez had the finest season of his career last year, as he emerged as a quality No. 2 starter behind the currently injured Chris Sale. Rodriguez won 19 games while posting a 3.81 ERA, earning himself a sixth-place finish in the Cy Young race.
After the injuries to Sale and Rodriguez, which were made worse by the fact that Collin McHugh chose to opt-out of the 2020 season, players like Martin Perez, Ryan Weber, and Dylan Covey will need to show they can cut it as starters on a team that still has their eyes set on the postseason.
Eduardo Rodriguez says to wear a mask, wash your hands and be careful. COVID-19 hit him hard. It was all he could do to get out of bed.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) July 19, 2020
"I felt like I was 100 years old."
This is a 27-year-old professional athlete.
Related Story. The loss of Eduardo Rodriguez is a major blow to Boston's rotation. light
The Red Sox already had very little to write home about as it pertained to their starting pitching, and Rodriguez’s struggles to get back to full health might derail Boston’s entire rotation in 2020. Hopefully, the effects of the virus don’t sideline Rodriguez for too long and he can rejoin the Boston rotation as soon as possible.