Pirates remove Endy Rodriguez from Friday night game with alarming injury

In Game 1 of the second 'Poop' series of the season, the Pirates removed Endy Rodriguez from the contest in just the first inning with an injury. Any concern for the health of a player is a bad sign, but this particular one is extremely alarming for Rodriguez, as his removal had to do with his surgically repaired right elbow.

During the offseason before the 2024 season, Rodriguez injured his elbow in a Winter League game and got Tommy John surgery to repair it. That took him out of the 2024 season, and he got to play in 15 games before landing on the injured list again with a finger laceration. In his third game back from that IL stint, Rodriguez is now potentially heading back to the IL with this elbow discomfort, which he's feeling on the same elbow he got surgery on.

In the top of the second inning, Rodriguez tossed a warmup back to Bailey Falter, shook his arm in discomfort, and decided to take himself out of the game. Just when everyone thought he was finally healthy, he gets hit with another injury that could possibly result in another chunk of missed time.

Over 12 hours after the initial removal, no further information is available.

Pirates pull Endy Rodriguez from game due to an alarming injury

Rodriguez cannot seem to find a break with these injuries, and it is really setting him back. It's early and there are not any updates out for him just yet, but if he re-tore that ligament in his elbow, he could be out for the season again. All fans can hope for right now is just something minor in there, like inflammation or irritation.

Prior to the game Friday night, Rodriguez was batting .173 with just two RBI and 38 wRC+. He has not been able to find a groove at the plate, and these constant injuries are preventing him from figuring things out.

Joey Bart is still out with a concussion, so the Pirates may have another catcher up in Pittsburgh today if it is as serious as it sounds. Abrahan Gutierrez is the likely catcher to come up, as he was on the taxi squad earlier this season, but he is not on the 40-man roster. Henry Davis has been heating up, so this will keep him in the lineup more.

This could really shake things up on the roster and set back Rodriguez even further in his early career. Hopefully this elbow thing is minor so he can get right back into the lineup, but since he got surgery on it a little over a year ago, this is extremely concerning.