Injured Pirates Catcher Resuming Baseball Activities
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PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh Pirates catcher received good news about his injury this past week.
Pirates catcher Endy Rodríguez suffered a right index finger laceration while catching for pitcher Paul Skenes against the Washington Nationals on April 14 at PNC Park.
Skenes would bounce a curveball, which hit Nationals left fielder James Wood, but also hit off of Pirates catcher Endy Rodríguez's throwing hand.
The Pirates medical staff treated Rodríguez and manager Derek Shelton determined that he had to make a change, bringing in Henry Davis at catcher.
They would put stitches in Rodríguez's hand and eventually placed him on the Injured List on April 15.
Pirates senior director of sports medicine, Todd Tomczyk, reported that Rodríguez went for a consultation with Dr. Steven Shin, a hand doctor in the Los Angeles Area, which cleared Rodríguez for moving his finger, according to Greg Macafee of DK PIttsburgh Sports.
Rodríguez also received clearance for resuming light baseball activities, like hitting and throwing in the near future, and that he doesn't have to wait to have his stitches out to do this.
Macafee also reported that Rodríguez participated in light tossing and fielding drills ahead of the Pirates second game vs. the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium.
Rodríguez has made five starts at catcher for the Pirates this season and has also started at first base, doing so nine times this season, as Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz is still out with a right wrist injury.
Joey Bart is back from his minor injury with lower back discomfort, and is starting catcher for the Pirates, while Davis maintains his backup role.
The Pirates have also had Enmanuel Valdez play first base in Rodríguez's absence, with Jared Triolo starting another game.
Rodríguez has made it back-to-back seasons with injury issues, forcing him to sit out.
He suffered an injury during winter ball following the 2023 season and underwent reconstructive surgery on ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and flexor tendon on Dec. 12, which kept him out for the 2024 campaign.
Rodríguez did come back for 10 games at the end of 2024, playing six with the Double-A Altoona Curve and four with Indianapolis.
He had a solid showing in spring training, slashing .321/.486/.571 for an OPS of 1.057., with nine hits, two doubles, a home run, six RBIs and nine walks in 14 games.
Rodríguez has slashed .178/.260/.244 for an OPS of .504, with eight hits in 45 at-bats, three doubles, two RBIs and five walks to 12 strikeouts for the Pirates this season.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.