Rodriguez (knee) continues to play catch off flat ground but he remains without a firm timetable for a return, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports. "He continues to get better each day, and he had a very good day today so we're excited about that. we want to be cautious and careful, yet we're not going to hold him back. We've just got to make sure that more than anything else he's confident in his knee and in the delivery," said manager John Farrell.
Rodriguez was shut down last weekend after spraining the patella tendon in his right knee, but the talented southpaw was able to resume throwing Wednesday and has played catch each day since then. Still, Rodriguez will need to progress to throwing off a mound before a more clear timetable is set for a return to game action. Farrell also stated that he is not worried at this point about Rodriguez missing the beginning of the regular season.