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Minnesota Twins Provide Awful Injury Update on Top Prospect
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- Minnesota Twins Provide Awful Injury Update on Top Prospect
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
If there was a bad day for Minnesota Twins news this season , it definitely was Tuesday May 19. Although Pablo Lopez suffering a torn UCL was a big blow during Spring Training, the early-week update provided a whole host of negatives.
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Royce Lewis being demoted wasn't enough. Justin Topa not being good enough to stay on the team wasn't enough. Ryan Jeffers breaking a bone in his wrist wasn't even enough.
Emmanuel Rodriguez, who has been shelved since May 1 with a thumb injury , will now be out even longer. Surgery was revealed as the necessary next step.
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There are two things both incredibly true to Emmanuel Rodriguez. The Minnesota Twins prospect is exceptionally talented, and he's also exceptionally injury prone. Thumb injuries have been a problem for him previously, and the latest one will cause him to go under the knife again.
Thumb surgery for Emmanuel Rodriguez, who after swelling subsided an additional MRI showed a UCL ligament tear in his finger. #MNTwins
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 19, 2026
Last season Rodriguez played just 65 games because he suffered injuries to his thumb, oblique, and hip. The thumb injury, in his left hand, was different than the right thumb that required surgery in 2024 . That left thumb is the one he injured while sliding into first base earlier this month though, and now that will require a procedure as well.
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2024 saw Rodriguez play in just 47 games. You have to go back to 2023 at Single-A, as a 20-year-old, to find Rodriguez's high-water mark for games played. He saw 99 games of action that year for Cedar Rapids.
It's unfortunate for both Rodriguez and the MN Twins. He owns a .923 OPS this season in 25 games for the St. Paul Saints, and could have been an option to replace the demoted Matt Wallner. While Rodriguez does whiff plenty, he has a career .423 OBP in 320 professional games. Power is the calling card, but he has an incredible grasp of the strike zone as well.
How long Rodriguez is shelved this time around will be determined after a date for surgery has been decided. It's beyond unfortunate to lose a potential young option for the summer, and even moreso when it was all self-inflicted on an ill-advised slide into first base.
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