Yariel Rodríguez

Yariel Humberto Rodríguez Yordi
(El Gallero de San Saperio)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.

• Born March 10, 1997 in Camagüey, Camagüey Cuba

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Yariel Rodríguez has pitched for the Cuban national team and in Japan.

He debuted for the Ganaderos de Camaguey in 2015-2016, going 0-5 with a save but a 2.35 ERA. In 2016-2017, he was 5-5 with 2 saves and a 3.61 ERA. One issue was his control as he walked 54 in 94 2/3 IP. He was 7th in the Serie Nacional with 64 strikeouts (between Dachel Duquesne and Liván Moinelo), 8th in WHIP (1.31, between Alaín Sánchez and Erly Casanova, 10th in ERA but first in walks (3 ahead of teammate José Rodríguez). He was 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA for Cuba in the Canadian-American Association though he walked 15 in 23 innings.

He was 6-3 with a 2.88 ERA for the Ganaderos in the first half of 2017-2018; when the team did not qualify for the second half, he was picked up by Las Tunas and went 3-1 with a 3.58 ERA for them. He got the nod in game 7 of the finals but was outpitched by Granma's Sánchez. He finished among the league leaders in shutouts (4, 5th), wins (tied for 7th with Sánchez, Vladimir García and Jonder Martínez) and walks (49, 4th).

Rodríguez debuted for the Cuban national team in the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games; the 21-year-old was the team's youngest pitcher (Yoelkis Céspedes was the only position player younger). He saw their least action with 1 IP (Casanova was next at 2) and his 9.00 ERA easily led a team with a staff ERA of 2.08 (Casanova was next at 4.50). In his lone game for the Silver Medal winners, he relieved Sánchez in the 7th with a 6-1 deficit against Gold Medal winner Puerto Rico. He gave up three hits, a walk and a run in his inning of work before Casanova closed it out.

He played for the Cuban national team in the Can-Am Association in 2019, then moved to the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Pro Baseball's Central League in 2020. He pitched three seasons for Chunichi, with the final one in 2022 being the best as he went6-2, 1.15 in 56 games as a reliever. In the meantime, he also appeared with Camaguey in the 2020-21 Cuban League season and then was selected to represent Cuba in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, making two starts in the event. However, he did not return to Japan after the tournament, becoming a defector, as his ultimate goal was to pitch in Major League Baseball. This became more feasible when he was declared a free agent by MLB.

On January 17, 2024, it was reported that he had come to an agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays on a multi-year contract, although details were not immediately available.

He throws a fastball in the low 90s, a slider and a changeup.

Further Reading

• Keegan Matheson: "Cuban RHP Yariel Rodríguez agrees to deal with Blue Jays", mlb.com, January 17, 2024. [1]