Steven Francis "Paco" Rodríguez (born April 16, 1991) is an American former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. Prior to playing professionally, Rodriguez attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

from 2012 to 2015.

Amateur career

Rodriguez is of Cuban descent. His parents met and married in Spain after defecting from their home country separately. They then moved to the Dominican Republic, Canada, and New Jersey before living in the

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

area, where their son was born on April 16, 1991. Rodriguez has an older sister and a younger sister who graduated from Brown University. He attended

Gulliver Preparatory School Gulliver Preparatory School or simply Gulliver Prep, is a private co-educational school. Its management offices are in Kendall, a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Its four campuses are across the county. Previously the ad ...

, where he was named to Class 3A All-State and the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...

'' All-Dade Team. The

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

selected Rodriguez in the 48th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft after his high school graduation, but he did not sign. Rodriguez enrolled at the

, in order to play

for the

Florida Gators baseball The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (S ...

team in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC). For the Gators, Rodriguez served as the team's closer. His career

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) at Florida (2.19) in 86 appearances is the lowest since the introduction of aluminum bats in 1974. He was an All-SEC selection in 2012. Rodriguez helped lead the Gators to the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

in three consecutive years.

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

The

selected Rodriguez in the second round of the

2012 Major League Baseball Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

. Draft experts suggested that he would be one of the first players from the draft to reach the majors. After signing with the Dodgers, he was assigned to the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Histor ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. After six appearances with the Loons, he was promoted to the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Southern League, where he pitched in 15 games with a 1.32 ERA. The Dodgers promoted Rodriguez to the major leagues on September 5, 2012, and became the first 2012 draftee to reach the majors. He made his debut in a game on September 9 against the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

and retired the one batter he faced. He appeared in 11 games for the Dodgers in 2012, as a left-handed specialist, and allowed only one run to score in 6.2 innings. Rodriguez started the 2013 season on the Dodgers' major league roster. After a rocky April, he became a trusted member of the Dodgers' bullpen, though he faltered in September and October under the heavy workload of an MLB season. From May through August, his ERA was 1.31 in 52 appearances. His season totals were a record of 3-4 with a 2.32 ERA in 76 games. Rodriguez spent most of 2014 with the AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

, but had four separate brief stints with the Dodgers. In July, Rodriguez strained an upper back muscle. In 32 games with the Isotopes, he was 2–3 with a 4.40 ERA and in 19 games for the Dodgers, he was 1–0 with a 3.86 ERA. In May 2015, Rodriguez was added to the disabled list and underwent a bone spur removal surgery in July.

Atlanta Braves

On July 30, 2015, in a three-team trade, the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

acquired Rodriguez, Héctor Olivera, minor league pitcher Zachary Bird, and a competitive balance draft pick for the

2016 MLB Draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

, while the Dodgers acquired

Mat Latos Mathew Adam Latos ( ; born December 9, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padre ...

Michael Morse Michael John Morse (born March 22, 1982) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, first baseman and shortstop. Morse was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the third round (82nd overall) of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft. ...

Bronson Arroyo Bronson Anthony Arroyo (born February 24, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and musician. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates between 2000 and 2002, the Boston Red Sox from 2003 to 2005, th ...

, Alex Wood, Jim Johnson,

Luis Avilán Luis Armando Avilán (born July 19, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, ...

, and

José Peraza José Francisco Peraza Polo (born April 30, 1994) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman and shortstop in the New York Mets organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincin ...

, and the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

acquired minor league pitchers Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham, and Kevin Guzman. Though he was expected to recover sufficiently from multiple injuries by September and make his first appearances for the Braves, Rodriguez did not pitch at the major league level for the rest of the 2015 season, and underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

in September. On December 2, 2016, Rodriguez and the Braves avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $637,500 contract for the 2017 season. Rodriguez was released from his contract with the Braves on March 28, 2017.

Baltimore Orioles

On July 10, 2017, Rodriguez signed a minor league deal with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Minnesota Twins

Rodriguez signed with the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

for the 2018 season. After one appearance for the Skeeters he signed a minor league contract with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. He was released by the organization on August 2, 2018.

Sugar Land Skeeters

On August 10, 2018, Rodriguez re-signed with the

of the

. He became a free agent following the 2018 season.

San Diego Padres

On February 18, 2019, Rodriguez signed a minor league deal with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.

Pitching style

Rodriguez has an unusual and deceptive delivery in which, from the batter's perspective, he hides the ball behind his head before slinging it towards the plate.Dylan Hernandez
Dodgers reliever Paco Rodriguez continues to impress
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', Published August 26, 2013, Retrieved November 27, 2013.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Paco 1991 births Living people Baseball players from Miami American sportspeople of Cuban descent Major League Baseball pitchers Los Angeles Dodgers players Florida Gators baseball players Great Lakes Loons players Chattanooga Lookouts players Albuquerque Isotopes players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Gulf Coast Orioles players Sugar Land Skeeters players Criollos de Caguas players Fort Myers Miracle players Amarillo Sod Poodles players El Paso Chihuahuas players Gulliver Preparatory School alumni Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers