Ronny Rodríguez — known throughout Dominican baseball as El Felino — played preseason ball with the Águilas Cibaeñas, homered on October 7 and drove in three runs in a 10-10 tie against the Mineros de Bonao. Then the 2026-27 LIDOM season started, and he wasn’t on the active roster. Now he’s asking publicly for a chance to get in — and the timing couldn’t be better.
He played his way in. The roster said otherwise.
As of October 18, the Águilas’ approved roster lists eight infielders: Christopher Morel, Eddys Leonard, Aderlin Rodríguez, Raynel Delgado, Arturo Disla, Alfredo Reyes, Willy Vásquez, and import Mason McCoy at shortstop. El Felino isn’t among them.
It wasn’t a formal release with an official announcement. Rodríguez appears to have landed in a gray area between the preseason and the start of the regular season (which opened October 16) — the team’s weekly roster on their official site still lists him at No. 65, with his last game logged on October 18. He’s not out. He’s just not in.
The public ask was captured by @DaSportsRD on X, alongside a photo of Rodríguez in Águilas yellow celebrating at Estadio Cibao. That image matters: this isn’t an outsider knocking on the door. It’s a homegrown player asking to come back.
Why right now makes sense
Manager Luis ‘Pipe’ Urueta is chasing the franchise’s 23rd title, but the offense hasn’t cooperated early. Over the last ten games, the Águilas are 4-6 with two straight losses, scoring just 3.7 runs per game against 4.5 allowed. The infield has names, but the production hasn’t followed.
The team did upgrade elsewhere — Jorge Bonifacio and Abraham Almonte joined the outfield, and three pitchers (Luis David Reyes, Juan de la Cruz, and Juan Méndez) were added to the staff. But the lineup’s interior has been quiet, and Rodríguez spent the preseason showing he can still do damage.
His only documented preseason outing: a home run, three RBI, and a run scored. Small sample, sure — but it stings a little more when you’re sitting out while your team can’t find runs.
What El Felino brings to the table
Born April 17, 1992, in Santiago de los Caballeros, Rodríguez made his MLB debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2018. In two big-league seasons he hit .221 with 19 home runs and 63 RBI. After that came stints in Japan (NPB, 2021, .197 AVG) and Taiwan (CPBL, 2022, .273 AVG) — the kind of globe-trotting résumé that says a player is willing to work to stay sharp. His last recorded MLB transaction was a release by the Campeche Pirates in May 2024, leaving him a free agent with no active contract in organized ball.
The Águilas are his winter home. He has history in that yellow uniform. The ball is now in the front office’s court.
As of this writing, there’s been no official response from the Águilas. But with the offense sputtering and a crowded infield that hasn’t clicked yet, El Felino has a real argument — and he’s making it out loud.
