July 18: Divish reports that while Rodriguez’s wrist fracture will not require surgery, it will prevent him from participating in baseball activities for the next four-to-six weeks. So while the Mariners’ phenom will be unable to get reps in a Major League setting, the M’s are hoping that Rodriguez will get some at-bats in the Dominican Winter League, which gets underway in October.
July 16: Exciting Mariners prospect Julio Rodriguez is going to spend some time on the mend. He has been diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his left wrist, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times was among those to report on Twitter.
Rodriguez is widely regarded as one of the twenty (or better) top prospects in all of baseball. The 19-year-old was invited to participate in Seattle’s 60-man player pool even though he has yet to appear in the upper minors.
The M’s had hoped to allow Rodriguez and other elite prospects to gain exposure to upper-level talent and get reps in the absence of a minor-league season. That’s all out the window now for Rodriguez, at least until he’s able to heal up.
There’s not a ton of time left for Rodriguez to get back to full speed and return to the fold, limiting his development opportunities this year. Fortunately, the Mariners won’t have to alter their MLB plans, as Rodriguez didn’t factor in the picture this year.
