Eduardo Rodríguez' MRI Shows Positive Results

The D-backs left-hander could begin his throwing program soon.

Feb 27, 2024; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Eduardo / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

According to a tweet from The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro, Diamondbacks left-hander Eduadro Rodríguez could be finally getting close to restarting his throwing program. The southpaw underwent an MRI yesterday, and the imaging showed positive results.

There was good news on Eduardo Rodriguez’s MRI yesterday: It showed healing, and he appears close to beginning a throwing program, Torey Lovullo said. Rodriguez probably is still a month or so away from a potential return.

— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) May 9, 2024

It's still a relatively long road to full recovery for Rodríguez, as he will need to complete his throwing program and ramp back up with a rehab assignment before he can finally take the mound for the first time as an Arizona Diamondback.

Rodríguez went through a rough beginning to his recovery. After exiting a Spring Training game on March 19th with left shoulder tightness, he was seemingly rushed into beginning his throwing program just nine days later.

This quick turnaround raised questions about the severity of the injury, and for good reason. The left-hander was multiple weeks into his throwing program when he reported tightness again in mid-April. The subsequent MRI revealed a setback, and Rodríguez was then shut down entirely and transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day. Retroactive to March 25th, he could be activated as early as May 25th, but as Piecoro noted above, at least a month away is more likely.

In a season that's been heavily beset by injury, the D-backs can't be entirely blamed for wanting to get players back in action quickly, especially when the players note that they seem to feel good, before they were fully ready. Manager Torey Lovullo has mentioned regret for the way the injury was handled before, and said that he and the staff "learned a valuable lesson" from the unfortunate turn of events.

Rodríguez still has yet to actually begin his throwing program, but with an encouraging MRI, he should be on the path to returning soon.