Texas Longhorns Baseball Hit With Major Injury

While the outfield’s depth for the No. 2 Texas Longhorns has been tested this season, the injury misfortune has now turned its head to the infield.

Texas shortstop Adrian Rodriguez is expected to miss some time due to a lingering hand injury, according to Texas Athletics. The Longhorns' shortstop has dealt with a nagging hand injury since his freshman year last season, when he injured his hand in the Missouri series.

Rodriguez did have surgery on his hand this past summer, after returning to the Longhorns lineup late last season. His status is currently week-to-week.

Rodriguez got leaner in the offseason to better equip himself for the more physically demanding role. He earned the shortstop position after a lengthy position battle with Stanford transfer and current third baseman, Temo Becerra, in the offseason.

He has started all 27 games this season for the Longhorns and has played well, slashing .271/.386/.383, although his production has slowed down since the start of the season. Defensively, Rodriguez has anchored the middle part of the field for nine double plays this year.

What Will the Infield Look Like Against Texas State

Texas junior first baseman Casey Borba celebrates a home run against the Texas State Bobcats on Mar. 11, 2026, at Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas. | Texas Athletics

Rodriguez’s injury is a major blow to the Texas infield, and there will be a lot of moving around coming up for the Longhorns, first starting against Texas State on Tuesday.

Expect Becerra to move into the void that Rodriguez left at shortstop — the adjustment will not be too jarring for the veteran infielder. Becerra was brought in from the transfer portal to replace Jalin Flores, who entered the MLB Draft at the end of last season, but Rodriguez wanted to compete for the job in the offseason.

Becerra was a two-year starter at the position while at Stanford, and has been impressive since moving back to third base this season. Defensively, Texas will not lose much with Becerra at the position moving forward.

Now here is the tricky part: what to do with third base now that Becerra moves over to shortstop? The Longhorns have two options heading into their second game against Texas State.

Current first baseman Casey Borba started the majority of last season, slotted at third base, and is naturally comfortable at the position. If Texas does move Borba back to third, Josh Livingston will likely make the move to first base, a position he played at Wichita State last season.

The Longhorns could also keep Borba at first and slot Livingston at third, although Livingston has less experience in the role than Borba.

Texas will face the Texas State Bobcats tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. CT at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas

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