The Pirates are going to place catcher Endy Rodríguez on the 10-day injured list with a left glute strain, manager Don Kelly tells reporters, including Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Rafael Flores will be recalled to take over the vacated roster spot.
At this point, it’s not clear if the injury for Rodríguez is significant. It’s possible it’s fairly minor but the Bucs are using the upcoming All-Star Break to get him an extended break while only missing a handful of games.
Regardless, it’s a notable setback for the Bucs, as they have been hemorrhaging lineup regulars lately. Oneil Cruz and Spencer Horwitz hit the IL last month. Konnor Griffin landed on the shelf yesterday and is probably going to miss eight to ten weeks with a torn tendon in his left hand.
When combined with today’s news on Rodríguez, the Pirates have lost their starting shortstop, catcher, first baseman and center fielder in just over a month. That’s obviously not ideal when the club is fighting to stay in the race, currently three games back of a playoff spot in the National League.
For Rodríguez personally, this injury interrupts a breakout season. He debuted with the Bucs back in 2023 and seemed poised to emerge as a big league regular in 2024. Unfortunately, he went on an injury odyssey instead. He required surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament and flexor tendon in his throwing arm in December of 2023. That procedure wiped out his 2024. Last year, Rodríguez was back in action but he made multiple trips to the IL and required another surgery in August, this one being an ulnar nerve transposition surgery.
Here in 2026, things have finally been clicking for Rodríguez. He was optioned to the minors to start the year but was recalled in May and has since hit .260/.388/.470 in 122 plate appearances. He has five home runs and a huge 17.2% walk rate. His 138 wRC+ indicates he has been 38% better than the league average hitter on the year. Ideally, this will be a brief respite and he can continue building on those numbers later, but time will tell how possible that is.
More to come.
