3 Detroit Tigers most to blame for failed Eduardo Rodriguez trade

Tigers to blame for failed Eduardo Rodriguez trade: Scott Harris

It’s impossible not to blame Scott Harris for at least some of this incident, as he should have known he own player well enough to understand he wouldn’t accept a trade to the west coast. In the aftermath of the trade deadline itself, I wrote about Harris’s inept nature in his first real test as Detroit GM:

"“Harris reportedly agreed to trade Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Dodgers before 6 p.m. ET, but Rodriguez enacted his no-trade clause to avoid a deal to the west coast. That’s well within Rodriguez’s right, whether Tigers fans like it or not. It’s written in his contract, handed out by Al Avila. Harris and Detroit’s front office played the waiting game, holding out for the best prospect package and assuming they would receive the offer they wanted. When Rodriguez decided he did not want to join the Dodgers, it threw them for a loop with little time to spare.”"

Since then, it’s become clear that Harris was caught off-guard despite previous conversations with Rodriguez. Even so, it’s surprising Harris didn’t have some sort of backup plan in place involving one of the teams which weren’t on his no-trade list.

The first-year GM held all the cards, as there was limited supply to meet the overwhelming demand for starting pitching at the deadline. Harris played hardball, with rival front office executives baffled by Rodriguez’s price tag throughout. That plan backfired and then some.