Endy Rodriguez’s spring surge shows why Pirates need him healthy

It’s kind of wild how quickly we can forget what Endy Rodríguez was supposed to be for Pittsburgh — until he starts squaring up baseballs again and the whole roster suddenly looks less stuck in neutral.

Rodríguez is the rare Pirates piece who can change the shape of the lineup and the roster at the same time. This spring, he’s already flashing that impact — hitting .375/.444/.875 with a homer and three RBI in eight at-bats.

It’s a tiny sample, sure, but it’s also the point: when Rodríguez is physically right, the bat plays immediately.

Endy Rodríguez is forcing the Pirates to imagine the good version again

The annoying part is we’ve barely gotten a real look at it. Rodríguez finally showed up on July 17, 2023, and the first run was a mixed bag — 57 games, a .220 average, three homers, plenty of “welcome to the big leagues” at-bats where pitchers didn’t give him anything for free. But even with the rough edges, you could see it: he fit, and his value was always going to be the fact that he could help you in more than one spot.

Then his elbow turned into a multi-year roadblock. The original injury happened in winter ball, and it led to UCL reconstruction (Tommy John) and a flexor tendon repair in December 2023, wiping out his entire 2024 season. And just when 2025 finally looked like the slow re-entry year, his throwing arm flared up again. He returned for only a small sample, got shut down in June with elbow issues, then underwent an ulnar nerve transposition in August. 

So when he shows life this spring — when the Pirates are comfortable moving him between catcher/first/outfield work — it’s a flashing sign pointing at Pittsburgh’s clearest path to getting more dynamic without spending big.

The Pirates can’t settle for “fine” production at catcher. They need a real edge. If Rodríguez is healthy, he gives them one. A switch-hitter who can move around the diamond and keep the lineup from sacrificing offense just to make the positions fit.

The spring surge is exciting, but it’s also a reminder: the Pirates’ best version of their roster still has Endy Rodríguez in it.