Ricardo José Rodríguez (born August 31, 1992) is a Venezuelan

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

for the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. 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 Texas Rangers in 2017 and 2018.

Professional career

Texas Rangers

Rodríguez signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent on November 20, 2010. He made his professional debut in 2011 for the

DSL Rangers The Dominican Summer League Rangers or DSL Rangers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Dominican Summer League and Rookie affiliates of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Boca Chica, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Since 2014, the tea ...

, posting a 4–1 record with a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings. He repeated with the

in 2012, posting a 3–3 record with a 2.87 ERA in 47 innings. Rodríguez split the 2013 season between the DSL Rangers, the

AZL Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is composed ...

of the Rookie-level

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it f ...

, and the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

of the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

; posting a combined 0–4 record with a 3.09 ERA in 32 innings between the three levels. In 2014, he spent the season with the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, going 5–5 with a 3.07 ERA in innings (29 games - 12 starts). Rodríguez appeared in five games for the Hickory and in two games for the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, before he underwent season-ending

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 2015. The surgery also caused him to miss the entire 2016 season rehabilitating. He began the 2017 season with the

Down East Wood Ducks The Down East Wood Ducks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the owned-and-operated Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Kinston, North Carolina, and are named for the wood duck, a local colorful wa ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

and was later promoted to the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

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 ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. In 35 combined games, he posted a 5–1 record with a 1.34 ERA and 61 strikeouts over 47 innings. The Rangers promoted Rodríguez to the major leagues on August 8, 2017, becoming the first Wood Duck to be promoted to the major leagues. Rodriguez made his debut on August 14, 2017 in a game against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, pitching one scoreless inning. He recorded his first career strikeout against Tigers batter James McCann and struck out the next batter,

Alex Presley Alexander Crawford Presley (born July 25, 1985) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, and Detroit Tigers from 2010 to 2017. Ear ...

, as well. He ended the 2017 season after posting a 0–1 record with a 6.23 ERA over 13 innings in 16 games for Texas. Rodríguez started the 2018 season on the 60–day DL with right biceps tendinitis and elbow inflammation. He rehabbed with Frisco and Round Rock before being activated off the DL and optioned to Round Rock. Between the two levels, he posted a combined 1–2 record with a 2.51 ERA and 28 strikeouts over innings. He recorded a 0–0 record with a 4.05 ERA in major league innings in 2018. On November 30, 2018, Rodríguez was non-tendered by the Rangers and was granted free agency. Rodríguez was re-signed to a minor-league contract on February 5, 2019. It was also announced that Rodríguez had undergone shoulder surgery in December 2018, which caused him to miss the entire 2019 season.

Toros de Tijuana

On April 18, 2023, Rodríguez signed with the

of the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Ricardo 1992 births Living people Arizona League Rangers players Dominican Summer League Rangers players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Down East Wood Ducks players Frisco RoughRiders players Hickory Crawdads players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Baseball players from Maracay Round Rock Express players Spokane Indians players Texas Rangers players Toros de Tijuana players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States