Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Undergoes thumb surgery
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Rodriguez recently underwent surgery to repair a ligament tear in his right thumb, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey indicated Wednesday it was a cleanup procedure that Rodriguez had and the expectation is the young outfielder will be ready for spring training. Rodriguez was limited to just 47 games in 2024 due to the nagging thumb issue. The 21-year-old ended the season at Triple-A St. Paul and is already on the 40-man roster, so he could push to debut in 2025.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Back on Triple-A IL
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Rodriguez was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday due to a right thumb sprain, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Rodriguez first injured the thumb back in late April and has now aggravated the injury at least twice. He was limited to just 47 games and 209 plate appearances in 2024, so the Twins might want him to play winter ball once he's healthy to make up for lost time. Rodriguez still performed well when on the field, collecting a 1.026 OPS with nine homers and nine steals over four stops.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Moves up to Triple-A
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The Twins promoted Rodriguez from Double-A Wichita to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Rodriguez recently returned from a right thumb strain by appearing in a rehab game with Single-A Fort Myers over the weekend, and he'll now come off Wichita's injured list and move up to the Twins' top minor-league affiliate. The 21-year-old has been excellent this season when healthy, slashing .298/.479/.621 with eight home runs, nine stolen bases and a 46:42 K:BB over 37 games with Wichita. Rodriguez is already on the Twins' 40-man roster, but he's unlikely to push for a promotion to the majors until 2025.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Aggravates thumb strain
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Rodriguez aggravated his right thumb strain during his rehab assignment and has not played since July 8.
He played in two rehab games July 6 and July 8 for the Florida Complex League Twins but has been on the shelf for four weeks since aggravating the injury. There hasn't been any word from the Twins about Rodriguez's timetable to resume his rehab assignment.
Rodriguez (thumb) began a rehab assignment with Minnesota's FCL team and went 4-for-6 with three doubles in his first two games Friday and Saturday.
Rodriguez sustained a thumb injury June 5 while sliding into second base on a double. The 21-year-old prospect had been tearing it up in Double-A this season, slashing .298/.479/.621 with eight home runs and 20 RBI over 167 plate appearances.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Lands on IL with sprained thumb
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Double-A Wichita placed Rodriguez on the 7-day injured list Friday due to a sprained thumb, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
Rodriguez sustained the injury Wednesday while sliding into second base on a double. The 21-year-old prospect has been tearing it up in Double-A this season, slashing .298/.479/.621 with eight home runs and 20 RBI over 167 plate appearances.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Back in action Wednesday
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Rodriguez (hand) will start in center field and bat leadoff Wednesday for Double-A Wichita in its matchup with Northwest Arkansas.
Rodriguez is back in action after he hadn't played since April 24 due to the hand injury he sustained while sliding into second base on a stolen-base attempt in a game against San Antonio. The 21-year-old outfielder had gotten off to a strong start to the season for Wichita before suffering the injury, slashing .294/.507/.686 with four home runs and nine stolen bases in 73 plate appearances.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Hurt after sliding into second
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Rodriguez left Wednesday's game at Double-A Wichita in the seventh inning after suffering an undisclosed injury during a stolen-base attempt, TwinsDaily.com reports.
Rodriguez appeared to injure his arm while sliding headfirst into second base and walked off with trainers. The severity of the injury isn't yet known. He's off to a strong start at Double-A by hitting .294 with a 1.193 OPS, four home runs and nine stolen bases in 16 games.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Hot start at Double-A
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Rodriguez is hitting .391 with three home runs and a 1.548 OPS through seven games for Double-A Wichita.
It's a small sample and he as a .545 BABIP, but it's a promising start to the season. He had an .870 OPS with 16 home runs and 20 stolen bases at High-A last season. Rodriguez has tantalizing power but needs to reduce his strikeouts (29.5 K% last season), so it is a little worrisome his hot streak also comes with a 29 percent strikeout rate.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Optioned to Double-A
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The Twins optioned Rodriguez to Double-A Wichita on Tuesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
Rodriguez was selected to the 40-man roster as one of the top prospects in Minnesota's minor-league system. He finished off the 2023 season in High-A ball. In his 455 plate appearances at that level, the outfielder had a .870 OPS with 16 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Jumps to 40-man roster
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The Twins selected Rodriguez to their 40-man roster Tuesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
One of the top prospects in Minnesota's minor-league system, Rodriguez is now officially protected from being plucked away in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. The 20-year-old outfielder has posted a .908 OPS with 35 home runs and 40 stolen bases through his first 183 professional games. He finished the 2023 campaign in High-A ball.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Treading water at High-A
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Rodriguez is slashing .219/.378/.371 with seven home runs, 10 steals and a 28.9 percent strikeout rate in 50 games since coming off the injured list with High-A Cedar Rapids.
On the season, Rodriguez has 10 home runs, 10 steals and a .206 average while walking or striking out in 51 percent of his 259 plate appearances (31.7 K%, 19.3 BB%). Rodriguez's 37.7 percent hard-hit rate is excellent, but it's not otherworldly like the 50 percent hard-hit rate he posted in 2022. He missed three weeks earlier this season with an abdominal strain.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Activated from injured list
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Rodriguez (abdominal strain) has been activated from the 7-day injured list at High-A Cedar Rapids, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
Rodriguez hit three home runs in his first seven games at Cedar Rapids before the injury. He was 5-for-27 with three homers and a .954 OPS, but he did have 17 strikeouts. Rodriguez's combination of excellent plate skills and monster power at such a young age (20) have made him a popular breakout pick in 2023. However, he needs to show he can stay healthy, as a torn right meniscus ended Rodriguez's 2022 campaign.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Making progress in return
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Twins director of player development Drew MacPhail told reporters that Rodriguez (knee) could return to action in the "next week or two," Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.
Rodriguez tore the meniscus in his right knee last June and missed the second half of the 2023 season. The 20-year-old was putting up stellar numbers prior to the injury with a .272/.492/.551 slash along with nine homers over 199 plate appearances. Considered one of the more intriguing prospects in the lower levels, Rodriguez has a good chance of providing fantasy relevance in the coming years.
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Twins' Emmanuel Rodriguez: Out with apparent lower-body injury
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Rodriguez has been placed on the 7-day injured list at Single-A Fort Myers. He suffered an apparent lower-body injury when sliding feet-first into third in Wednesday's game, Play-by-Play Broadcaster for the Daytona Tortugas, Justin Rocke, reports.
Rodriguez was hitting .272 with nine home runs and a 1.043 OPS before the injury. The top prospect for the Twins has displayed strong on-base skills and power at age 19.
Rodriguez is hitting .258/.457/.484 with five homers, seven steals and a 31:35 BB:K through 30 games for Single-A Fort Myers.
The pop he showed early on has dried up, as he's homerless over his last 16 games -- and yet he's put up a .449 OBP and five steals in that time. The 19-year-old outfielder remains a fascinating prospect with a wide spectrum of potential outcomes, but with his on-base skills and power, there's a lot to like. The keys for Rodriguez will be cutting down on his swing-and-miss and getting to his power in game situations more consistently.
