Twins No. 4 prospect Rodriguez needs surgery for left thumb UCL tear
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Twins No. 4 prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez has a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his left thumb and will require surgery, general manager Jeremy Zoll said Tuesday afternoon.
It was previously believed the injury was only a muscle strain. It's unclear how much time Rodriguez, MLB Pipeline's No. 54 prospect, will miss.
The injury, which is the latest in a series of ailments for the 23-year-old, comes as Rodriguez was potentially on his way to a big league callup at some point this season. He has six homers and a .923 OPS at Triple-A Saint Paul, but has had just one at-bat in May because of the thumb injury.
Since making his professional debut in 2021, he's yet to play in more than 99 games in a season. But Twins officials had been pleased with the progress they'd seen from Rodriguez this season.
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“He's had some fits and starts from an injury perspective. That always can throw off that progress," Zoll said last month. "To see him be able to fully put that into play here has been really exciting. … He's doing a ton of damage and putting stuff together really nicely here in this first month in Triple-A.”
For his Minor League career, Rodriguez is batting .253 with a .913 OPS.