TBNL: Fernando Rodney still pitches; Boston's seeking another reliever; a busy day in history

Fernando Rodney was one of the most animated and consistent relievers in baseball for 17 seasons. Rodney was best known for his trademark “bow and arrow” celebration following each save — he had 327 of them in his career; 18th on MLB’s all-time leaderboard — and for wearing his hat offset, an ongoing tribute to his late father.

Originally signed by the Tigers as an amateur free agent in November 1997, Rodney played for 11 teams across his career, posting a 3.80 ERA (110 ERA+) across 933.0 IP. He made a trio of All-Star appearances and finished 5th in AL Cy Young voting in 2012 when he saved 48 games with a minuscule 0.60 ERA for Tampa Bay.

The last time Rodney appeared on an MLB mound came in 2019 when the 42-year-old made 55 appearances for the A’s and Nationals.

Rodney signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Constellation Energy League for the 2020 season but only played a single game before the season was canceled due to the Covid pandemic. His travels took him to Mexico where he’s pitched the last three seasons, posting a 3.46 ERA across 93.2 IP with 44 saves.

Well, it would seem he’s still not ready to hang up his spikes. Rodney has signed a deal with the Hamilton Cardinals for the 2025 season. He will be 48 in mid-March.

The news flew under the radar at the time and only cropped up again on BlueSky when someone shared a link with FanGraphs’ Jay Jaffe.

Hamilton is part of the nine-team Intercounty Baseball League, the top independent league in Canada. Astoundingly, 2025 will be the IBL’s 106th year in operation according to the league’s official website.

Hamilton finished 6th in the league standings last season with an 18-24 record.

Elsewhere, around the league …

• Two-time Olympic medalist (a silver in 2014 in speedskating and a silver in 2020 in baseball; making him one of just a handful of athletes to medal in both the Summer and Winter games) Eddy Alvarez has signed a minor league contract with the Braves. The soon-to-be 35-year-old infielder has just 23 hits in 153 career MLB plate appearances but has slashed .279/.381/.436 over ten years in the minors.

• Amed Rosario has landed with the Nationals on a one-year, $2M deal to serve in a utility role. Rosario looked at one point like Cleveland’s long-term answer at shortstop following the Francisco Lindor trade (Rosario was one of four players in that return) but he’s bounced around the last two seasons spending time with the Dodgers, Rays, the Dodgers again, and finally the Reds.

• It seems like this is nearly an annual story, but a Marlins pitcher will miss the 2025 season following elbow surgery. The team announced that Braxton Garrett will undergo a UCL revision surgery. He is expected to be sidelined for at least 12 months.

• Ryuta Ohtani’s NPB career was much different than his brother Shohei’s. The elder Ohtani saw just 23 plate appearances between 2008 and 2009, collecting five hits (including one homer). He then spent nine seasons in Japan’s Industrial League, including several where he served as both player and manager. Ohtani was named the new manager of Toyota Motor East (of the IL) in December.

• Former Orioles and Cubs left-hander Brian Matusz has passed away. He was 37. No cause of death has been released but police are investigating; Matusz’s body was found in his Phoenix home on Monday. The 4th overall pick in the 2008 Draft, Matusz pitched to a 4.92 ERA and won 27 games over an eight-year career.

• Teams seeking a low-cost outfield option have started looking at Alex Verdugo, with interest being connected to the Pirates, Blue Jays, Astros, Angels, and Mets. Verdugo was terrible for the Yankees last season, batting just .233/.291/.356 across 621 PA. Pittsburgh is also considering Randal Grichuk, who hit a surprising .291/.348/.528 in 279 PA last year for Arizona.

• Boston has already added Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson to their bullpen. Add in Brennan Bernardino (plus Zach Penrod, who’s on the 40-man roster) and the group is heavily left-handed. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo examined 13 free agent relievers still available to decipher which options make the most sense for the Red Sox, with the team still looking to add at least one more arm. Cotillo concluded that A.J. Minter (who the team has shown interest in even though he’d add another lefty), David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle (the latter two both former Yankees) are the best fits.

Birthdays

57 players in MLB history were born on January 9. Just four of those topped 10.0 WAR in their career.

• Stan Javier, outfielder, 25.4

• Otis Nixon, outfielder, 16.6

• Ralph Terry, right-handed pitcher, 11.8

• Iván de Jesús, shortstop, 11.1

Today in baseball history

1890: The American Association selects Brooklyn as the home of their next franchise, though the decision is made before the season ends to move it to Baltimore.

1903: The failing Baltimore franchise is purchased for $18,000 and moved to Manhattan where they become the New York Highlanders, the predecessors to the Yankees.

1918: The Brooklyn Robins trade outfielder (and future HOF manager) Casey Stengel and infielder George Cutshaw to the Pirates for (future HOF) pitcher Burleigh Grimes, pitcher Al Mamaux, and infielder Chuck Ward.

1927: The Robins trade Grimes to the New York Giants in a three-team deal, getting catcher Butch Henline in return from Philadelphia.

1952: Ted Williams is recalled into active duty by the U.S. Marines. Williams would get into just six games once the season started before reporting for duty. He would miss most of the 1953 season, too.

1971: HOF outfielder Elmer Flick passes away at age 94.

1980: Al Kaline and Duke Snider are elected to the Hall of Fame. Kaline is appearing on the ballot for the first time, while Snider is in his 11th year of eligibility.

1989: HOF first baseman Bill Terry passes away at age 92.

1989: Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski are elected to the Hall of Fame. Each is appearing on the ballot for the first time.

1990: Jim Palmer and Joe Morgan are elected to the HOF in their first years of eligibility.

1995: Hideo Nomo retires from the Kintetsu Buffaloes, allowing him to use a loophole in NPB contract language to jump to MLB. He will sign with the Dodgers on February 8.

2002: Houston signs (should be HOFer) Billy Wagner to a three-year, $27M contract that makes him one of the highest-paid relievers in baseball.

2005: Carlos Beltran and the Mets agree to a seven-year, $119M contract. Beltran is just the tenth player to sign a deal for $100M+ in league history.

2009: Fu-Te Ni signs a deal with the Tigers, becoming the first CPBL player to jump directly to the majors. Ni had pitched for Taiwan in the 2008 Olympics and led the CPBL in strikeouts the prior season. His MLB career would total just 54.0 IP with a 4.33 ERA.

2012: Barry Larkin is elected to the HOF. It is his third year on the ballot.

2013: Kosuke Fukudome signs with the Hanshin Tigers, returning to Japan after five seasons in the major leagues.

2020: Tampa Bay trades minor leaguers Matthew Liberatore and Edgardo Rodriguez to St. Louis for Randy Arozarena and Jose Martinez. The two clubs would also swap competitive balance picks in the following draft (the Rays took Alika Williams 37th overall; the Cards picked Alec Burleson 70th).

2022: Rachel Balkovec is named the manager of the Yankees Class-A Tampa Tarpons, becoming the first woman to manage a team.