Eddy Rodríguez (born December 1, 1985) is a

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

former

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

and coach. He was the catching coach for 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from 2020 to 2022. He played in MLB for 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. Rodríguez's family defected from Cuba on his father's fishing boat when he was eight years old, nearly dying on the journey. Rodríguez played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

before beginning his professional career.

Early life

Rodríguez was born in

Villa Clara Province Villa Clara is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is located in the central region of the island bordering on the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Matanzas Province to the west, Sancti Spiritus Province to the east, and Cienfuegos Province to the Sou ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. His parents, Edilio and Ylya Rodriguez, operated a farm and his father fished. The Rodríguez family, consisting of Eddy, his parents, his sister Yanisbet, and his cousin Carlos,

defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

from Cuba when he was eight years old on his father's fishing boat. Eddy was unaware of the defection until they were at sea. Their boat nearly capsized in a storm and they ran out of food, resorting to eating ground coffee beans, before they were discovered by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

. The family settled in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and Rodríguez graduated from Coral Gables Senior High School in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

Baseball career

Cincinnati Reds

Rodríguez received a scholarship from the

, where he played

as the starting

for the

Miami Hurricanes baseball The Miami Hurricanes baseball team is the college baseball program that represents the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Since 1973, the program has been one of college baseball's elite with 25 College World Series appearances, winnin ...

team. The

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

drafted Rodríguez in the 20th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. He played in the Reds

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

organization until 2009, reaching Double–A with 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 based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

of the Southern League, when he began playing independent league baseball.

El Paso Diablos/Sioux Falls Pheasants

Rodríguez played in the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

for the El Paso Diablos in 2009 and the Sioux Falls Pheasants in 2010.

San Diego Padres

In 2011, Rodríguez returned to organized baseball when he signed a minor league contract with the

. He was promoted to the Padres on August 1, 2012, from the

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team based in Lake Elsinore, California. The Storm compete in the California League as the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond, w ...

of the High–A

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

, after starting catcher Yasmani Grandal was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

. Rodríguez made his Major League debut on August 2, 2012, against the Cincinnati Reds. He hit a home run off of Johnny Cueto in his first major league at-bat. Rodríguez made two starts for the Padres in 2012, going 1 for 5 at the plate. He was optioned to the Triple-A

Tucson Padres The Tucson Padres were a Minor League Baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, that competed in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). They were the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team moved to Tucson from Portland, Oregon, for the 2011 ...

on August 9 when opening-day catcher Nick Hundley was recalled. On September 4, 2012, Rodríguez was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

and moved off the 40-man roster. The Padres re-signed Rodríguez as a minor-league free agent and invited him to 2013 spring training.

Tampa Bay Rays

On January 15, 2014, Rodríguez signed a minor league contract with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

. In 13 games for the Triple-A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, he batted .152/.204/.239 with one home run and four RBI. Rodríguez was released by the Rays organization on May 5.

New York Yankees

On January 16, 2015, Rodríguez signed a minor league contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

organization. In 57 games split between the Double–A

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

and Triple–A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

, he compiled a .171/.202/.261 batting line with three home runs and 20 RBI. On February 5, 2016, Rodríguez received a non–roster invitation to spring training. He spent the 2016 campaign back with Scranton, hitting .214/.265/.329 with three home runs and 13 RBI across 44 appearances. Rodríguez elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2016. On December 15, 2016, Rodríguez 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. The Twins released him after spring training, and he signed a minor league contract with the Yankees on April 3, 2017. Rodríguez spent the year with the Triple–A

, playing in 83 games and hitting .177/.227/.298 with eight home runs and 31 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2017, and ended his playing career.

Coaching career

Rodríguez served as the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

minor league catching coordinator in 2019. Rodríguez was named the catching coach for the

prior to the 2020 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Eddy 1985 births Living people Sports coaches from Miami Baseball players from Villa Clara Province Baseball coaches from Florida Baseball players from Miami Defecting Cuban baseball players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball coaches San Diego Padres players Miami Marlins coaches Miami Hurricanes baseball players Gulf Coast Reds players Dayton Dragons players Sarasota Reds players Chattanooga Lookouts players El Paso Diablos players Sioux Falls Pheasants players Tucson Padres players Lake Elsinore Storm players San Antonio Missions players Durham Bulls players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Trenton Thunder players Minor league baseball coaches Mat-Su Miners players Coral Gables Senior High School alumni