Endy Rodríguez, a former top prospect and Pittsburgh Pirates catcher, had reconstructive surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament and flexor tendon on Tuesday, the team revealed. The Pirates stated that he will miss the entirety of the 2024 season and that he anticipates playing baseball again in ten to twelve months.
Nov. 13, during winter ball, Rodríguez took a swing and sustained the injury, according to the Pirates. In the Dominican Winter League, he made just seven appearances before his injury forced him to miss all of them.
This past season, the 23-year-old Rodríguez made his Major League Baseball debut, batting.220,.284, and.328 with three home runs in 57 games—52 of which he played as catcher. After being brought up in the middle of July, he assumed the position of No. 1 catcher for Pittsburgh. at one of the top 50 baseball prospects going into 2023, Rodríguez was predicted to start for the team at catcher in 2024.
In January 2021, Joe Musgrove was traded to the San Diego Padres as part of a three-team trade, in which the Pirates originally acquired Rodríguez from the New York Mets. In 2019, Rodriguez participated in rookie ball, and he stayed at home during the 2020 epidemic season. He began to show promise in 2021 and has since developed into one of the top prospects in the game, potentially serving as Pittsburgh’s fundamental player.
With Rodríguez out of the lineup, the Pirates may start Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, at first base. Although Davis was drafted as a catcher, he played right field the majority of the season and only caught three big league innings. In 62 games as a rookie, the 24-year-old hit.213/.302/.351 with seven home runs.
