PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Already a major Pirates player out for the 2024 season and the calendar has yet to turn. The Pirates announce Tuesday starting catcher Endy Rodriguez will miss the coming year due to injury.
While swinging during an at bat in a Winter Ball game in the Dominican Republic nearly a month ago (November 13), Rodriguez tore his UCL. The team said Rodriguez had multiple examinations to determine the severity of the injury and had reconstructive surgery on the elbow and flexor tendon early Tuesday by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.
Rodriguez won’t even return to baseball activity until next October at the earliest and will obviously miss the entire 2024 season.
It’s now understood why GM Ben Cherington was so insistent Henry Davis would catch in 2024 and the Bucs also signing catcher Ali Sanchez earlier this month. Just 23-years-old, the switch-hitting Rodriguez had a .220 average in 57 games with 12 extra base hits (three home runs), 13 RBI, a .284 on-base percentage and .612 OPS. He also built a quick trust defensively with the pitching staff.
Rodriguez ended the 2023 season with five hits in his last eight at bats, unfortunately he won’t get another chance in the majors until 2025.