Pirates Injury Update: Endy Rodriguez, Kyle Nicolas, Ke'Bryan Hayes

The Pittsburgh Pirates have officially shut down three players who are nursing injuries during the final week of the 2024 campaign, but the club is optimistic that we'll see them back on the diamond at the start of 2025.

The first is relief pitcher Kyle Nicolas, who faced just one batter in the eighth inning of the Pirates’ 4-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 16 before exiting after feeling a pain in his left side. Pittsburgh subsequently placed the 25-year-old right-hander on the 15-day injured list, effectively ending his season with fewer than 15 games left in the Pirates' 2024 campaign.

Fortunately, assistant general manager Kevan Graves described Nicolas' injury as "relatively minor" during his appearance Sunday on 93.7 The Fan. Nicolas will finish the year with a 3.95 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over 54.2 innings, his longest stint to date at the Major League level. He has also posted a 55:31 strikeout-to-walk ratio since the Pirates recalled him from Triple-A Indianapolis at the end of April.

Pirates officially close door on return for Ke'Bryan Hayes this season

In his radio appearance Sunday, Graves also confirmed what we already knew to be true, which is that Pirates' third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes is not expected to return to game action before the end of the 2024 season. Graves said he "wouldn't anticipate seeing [Hayes] competing on the field before the end of the season here," adding that "it's just too short of a window."

Hayes, just one year removed from his Gold Glove-winning campaign in 2023, has been on the IL since mid-August with a recurring back injury. Before the issue sidelined him for a second time this season, he was slashing just .233/.283/.290 across 396 plate appearances.

Pirates shut down Endy Rodriguez due to right arm fatigue

Graves also provided a discouraging update Sunday on Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez, who had been rehabbing with Triple-A Indianapolis after undergoing Tommy John surgery. After Rodriguez left Friday's game early with general right forearm fatigue, the Pirates opted to shut him down for the remainder of the season.

Now, there are two things to keep in mind here. First, Sunday marked Indianapolis' final game of the season as it is, so Rodriguez was really only shut down for two games. Second, Rodriguez was already ahead of schedule in his rehab process, considering he underwent surgery in November and wasn't expected to see game action at any level until 2025.

In other words, barring this latest hiccup, Rodriguez's rehab has otherwise gone much more smoothly than expected. In 10 games split between Indianapolis and Double-A Altoona, Rodriguez hit .256 with one home run, two doubles and five RBI. He caught five games, served as a designated hitter four times, and appeared in one game at first base.

Graves said that it’s generally “good news” that Rodriguez’s injury isn’t believed to be as serious as it could have been, so it's possible that his early exit from Friday's game was merely precautionary. It remains to be seen if the minor setback will impact his offseason or his ability to play winter ball.

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