The Los Angeles Dodgers nearly pulled off one of the biggest splashes prior to the trade deadline when they lined up on a deal to acquire Eduardo Rodriguez from the Detroit Tigers.
However, the Dodgers were one of 10 clubs on Rodriguez’s no-trade list, and he opted to veto the deal to stay with the Tigers, rather than move to L.A.
The decision was surprising to the Dodgers front office, coaches and players, but at the end of the day, Rodriguez used the power given to him in his contract to stay in a place where he was comfortable, citing his family as the primary reason to block the trade.
Multiple players on the Dodgers were previously teammates with Rodriguez on the Boston Red Sox, including J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts, who both reached out to the left-hander.
Martinez was unsurprised Rodriguez blocked the trade, as he’d sent the 30-year-old a text message but did not hear back from him. “Absolute crickets,” Martinez said. “Everybody got that.”
Betts also sent a message to check in on Rodriguez, telling him “‘I don’t care what you do. If you come, cool. If you don’t, cool.’”
While Betts would have liked the All-Star to join the Dodgers staff, he added, “Our relationship is not based off that. We’ll always be boys. I didn’t give a damn what he did.”
Betts also went on to add it wasn’t his decision to make, saying he can only control what he does. “Ain’t got to do with me,” he said.
“Ain’t got nothing to do with me. Putting me in the lineup first, going home to my kids. That’s all I care about. After that, people can do, say whatever they want.”
Rodriguez did get respond to Betts on Wednesday, one day after the trade deadline, with information on why he vetoed the trade.
“He said, ‘Bro, love you. Sorry I didn’t get back to you the other day. But you know I need to take care of my family. I got to do what’s best for me and my family,’” Betts relayed.
“Can’t do nothing but respect that. Even if he said, ‘I just don’t want to become a Dodger,’ that’s fine with me. As long as he’s happy, he’s good, he’s feeling good. That’s all I care about.”
Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez different reactions to Eduardo Rodriguez trade veto
While Martinez was unsurprised by Rodriguez blocking the trade, Betts had a completely different reaction. “I think it surprised the world,” the 30-year-old said.
Betts did, however, agree with Martinez in the sense that the decision fit with Rodriguez’s past behavior however.
“But I mean it’s also still kind of surprising,” Betts said. “But you never know what somebody’s going through in their life, man. So you take their answers and life goes on.”
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