The Red Sox have re-signed infielder Brendan Rodgers to a two-year minor league deal, according to Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com. The deal allows him to rehab from shoulder surgery and hopefully return in 2027.
Rodgers was released by the club three days ago, though it seemed likely the two sides would reunite on a two-year pact. The 29-year-old joined the Red Sox organization in February but suffered a shoulder injury in a hard fall at the end of the month. That ended his bid to make the club out of camp, with the second base job ultimately going to Marcelo Mayer. If Mayer establishes himself this year, Rodgers may try for a backup spot if he is fully healthy in 2027.
The longtime Rockie is coming off a rough showing with the Astros in 2025. In 128 plate appearances over 43 games with Houston, Rodgers batted a meager .191/.266/.278 with a 55 wRC+. That was a steep falloff from his 87 wRC+ in 2024 and the worst mark for Rodgers since the 2020 season, when he only made 21 PA. His 35.9% strikeout rate with the Astros was a career high, and his 8.6% walk rate was not enough to make up for the significant decline in contact. While he showed some positive signs, such as a 48.6% hard-hit rate, the bottom-line results simply weren’t there. He went down a left oblique strain in mid-June and spent the rest of the season on the injured list.
For most of his time with the Rockies, Rodgers was a respectable, but underwhelming hitter. He slashed .266/.316/.409 with the club from 2019-24, grading out 14% below average by wRC+. That was serviceable, but not what the club expected given Rodgers’ pedigree as a former top prospect. He peaked with 1.8 fWAR in 2022, hitting 13 homers with a 94 wRC+ and playing exceptional defense at second base (22 Defensive Runs Saved). The latter proved to be an outlier, with Rodgers earning negative marks in DRS in 2023 and 2024. Going forward, he profiles best as a depth infielder, though his offense will need to recover post-surgery for him to stick on a big-league roster.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
