He was initially meant to serve as a third backup point guard, but the coach's strategy of using Carlos Arroyo and José Barea at once placed him in charge of a defensive backup squad. Puerto Rico was unable to classify with a narrow 2-point loss to Argentina, but classified to the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men. The following year, Rodríguez joined the B squad that won silver at the Centrobasket championship. He repeated his previous role at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament. However, another narrow loss costed them the opportunity to classify to the Olympics and eventually lead to the termination of Meléndez. Under coach Paco Olmos, Rodriguez returned in his backup role and joined the team for the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship, which classified directly for the 2014 FIBA World Cup by winning the silver medal.