Brace yourselves and your thumbs. The Twins No. 2 prospect, center fielder Emmanuel Rodríguez, is dealing with a thumb ailment again.
Theo Tollefson, who covers the St. Paul Saints for Zone Coverage, tweeted the club removed Rodríguez from the lineup before the first pitch Saturday afternoon because of a jammed left thumb. It's the opposite thumb from the one that troubled him throughout 2024, ended his season Sept. 11, and required surgery not long after to repair the radial collateral ligament.
Emmanuel Rodriguez is out of the Saints lineup with a jammed left thumb. Jair Camargo will replace him at DH today and bat third. #MNTwins
— Theodore Tollefson (@TheodoreTollef1) March 29, 2025
Dum, dah-dum-dum, thummmmmb.
There was nothing obvious from the broadcast of the Saints opener that could tell us how Rodríguez injured himself, though he appeared to slide putting his hands first into second base on a steal attempt early in the game. It ended up being moot because the batter drew a walk. Rodríguez wore one of those sliding mitts on his left hand but not his right. Some players double up.
Sliding with his hands first was how Rodriguez hurt his thumb in May of '24, though Twins head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta told reporters it was a fluky injury in how Rodríguez went about it. His thumb wasn't pulled backward like you might imagine.
That's really all we know yet — what the Saints said, and that it's not Rodríguez's surgically repaired thumb. Saint Paul did not end up playing anymore this weekend because of inclement weather in the Twin Cities, the threat of which could have played into the decision to keep Rodríguez out of the lineup in the first place.
The Twins organization has reasons to be careful with Rodríguez, a 22-year-old who came into the season the No. 19 overall prospect in MLB, but has endured frequent injuries since turning pro. He played 47 games a season ago because of his thumb, which he injured stealing a base hands first. Rodríguez never has played more than 99 games in a season because of that and other injuries.
A member of the 40-man roster, Rodríguez came into camp healthy aside from recovering from surgery, but he sprained his ankle in mid-February and didn't play in any major league Grapefruit League games. He only got back into action on the back fields of Spring Training late this month.
The same goes for top prospect Walker Jenkins, who injured his ankle in similar fashion the last week in February. Jenkins should be playing soon for Class AA Wichita, general manager Jeremy Roll told reporters March 25. Wichita's season begins Friday.
Rodríguez enjoyed a big Opening Day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBIs in a blowout victory for Saint Paul against Indianapolis. His results continued the tantalizing power and patience combination that gives him a career .252/.424/.512 slash line with 44 home runs, 38 doubles, 16 triples and 49 stolen bases in 1,021 career plate appearances.
With a ferocious left-handed swing, Rodríguez shows an uncommon ability to lay off pitches out of strike zone and frequently drive ones he should for extra bases.
As Tollefson said in follow-up tweets, it's well within reason for the Saints to keep Rodríguez off the field in wet weather for precautionary reasons. Of course, just hearing about an injury with Rodríguez, no matter the severity, is cause for pause.