3 players Twins could add to replace Carlos Correa after oblique injury
By Josh Hill
Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF
One of the last remaining healthy non-MLB players on the 40-man roster also happens to be perhaps the most exciting prospect the Twins have right now.
Emmanuel Rodriguez got overshadowed a bit by Walker Jenking and Brooks Lee when talking about the team's top prospects. He's the third-best prospect in the farm system and has spent the first week of the minor league season reminding everyone about just how good he is.
After notching 21 multihit games last year, third-ranked @Twins prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez is back at it in 2024 💪
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 7, 2024
MLB's No. 41 talent added a pair of stolen bases in his 2nd game for Double-A @WindSurgeICT: pic.twitter.com/7cnBL81iId
On the same night when Correa was lost to an injury, E-Rod was lighting things up for Wichita. He played in both games of a doubleheader and started each with some pretty impressive plate appearances.
Emmanuel Rodriguez (@Twins) starts off the game in style ... again!
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 13, 2024
MLB's No. 40 prospect tripled to lead off Game 1 of the @WindSurgeICT doubleheader and now drills his third homer of the year to start Game 2. pic.twitter.com/wLwCjbiJ9j
E-Rod is a Top 100 prospects -- one of four the Twins have -- and is on the 40-man roster despite playing at Double-A. Logic would suggest he needs to spend a stint at Triple-A before making the jump to the majors but losing Correa could create an emergency situation in which we see yet another glimpse of the future.
He's slashing .389/.542/.889 with a 1.431 OPS and 6 RBI in just five games. It's a very small sample size, but E-Rod is showing the proper type of development after a similarly great year at Single-A last year.
A jump to the MLB roster is aggressive, and the Twins risk rushing him too soon. Then again, the siutation is rather dire and drastic moves might need to be made. Rodriguez getting the call would both be exciting and a potential blessing in disguise after a blow like losing Correa.