Fall/Winter League Roundup: Eduardo Rodriguez debuts in Venezuela

Here is a recap of the past week's action in Fall and Winter leagues. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through the offseason. This week's roundup covers the period of December 5 - December 12.

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (pictured) made his first start of the winter for the Navegantes del Magallanes on Thursday, tossing two perfect innings and striking out three. Luis Ysla made one appearance this week, facing only one batter and striking them out. Austin Maddox continued to struggle in Venezuela, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks in 2/3 of an inning in two appearances this week. Deiner Lopez, who had been playing in the Liga Paralela for Lara in recent weeks, was brought back up to the parent club and made a pinch-running appearance, in which he stole a base.   

Dominican Baseball League

Marco Hernandez had a big week for the Tigres del Licey, going 7 for 18 at the plate, clubbing a homer and a double apiece on Friday and Saturday. Third baseman Rafael Devers received just two plate appearances last week, going 0 for 2. Roenis Elias continued his strong run this winter, tossing six strong innings while allowing a run on five hits on Thursday, lowering his ERA to 2.06 in 35 innings pitched. 

Coincidentally, both players that the Red Sox lost in last week's Rule 5 draft, right-handed pitcher Justin Haley and outfielder Aneury Tavarez, have been playing well in the Dominican this winter. Haley, who has finished his stint with Escogido, allowed just two runs in 23 2/3 innings over five starts, striking out 14 and walking 4. Tavarez, playing in his native country for the Estrellas del Oriente, has hit .298/.367/.395 in 124 at-bats in 37 games.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League

Catcher Christian Vazquez was 3 for 14 at the plate this week, bringing his line to .266/.365/.328 in 18 games. Rusney Castillo hit the ground running this week, going 6 for 14 with a double in his first four games in Puerto Rico. Joseph Monge was 2 for 3 in his only start of the week and scored a run as a pinch-runner. 

Venezuelan Liga Paralela

The Boston group got off to a quick start with wins on Monday and Tuesday of last week but lost their last four games to finish out a 2-4 week. Hildemaro Requena and Shair Lacrus led the squad to their first win on Monday with three shutout innings each but they allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings and two runs in 3 1/3 innings respectively later in the week. Stanley Espinal had a solid week at the plate, going 6 for 23 with a pair of doubles. Pedro Castellanos was 5 for 16 with a double. Luis Alexander Basabe was 2 for 4 with a double and a home run on Monday before being traded to the Chicago White Sox as part of the package for Chris Sale on Tuesday. 

The Liga's regular season ended on Friday, with Boston placing third at 41-27 to make the four-team playoff. Boston fell to Caracas (led by old friend Cleuluis Rondon, who was traded to the White Sox in the Jake Peavy trade), 9-4. Requena got the start on Saturday, cruising through four before he and Angel Padron allowed six runs to cough up what had been a 4-0 lead. Lorenzo Cedrola and Stanley Espinal led the Sox, both going 2 for 5 with a double. We will review the Liga Paralela season in next week's recap.

Photo Credit: Eduardo Rodriguez by Kelly O'Connor

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