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Pittsburgh Pirates fans will be happy to know that catcher Endy Rodriguez is beginning a rehab assignment with AAA Indianapolis Friday night for the Indians’ home game with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
They’ll be less happy to know that backup catcher Rafeal Flores is on the injured list.
The team announced early Friday afternoon that Rodriguez would be starting his rehab assignment, and manager Don Kelly announced later that Flores would be on the IL.
Rodriguez has been one of pleasant surprises of the team’s season thus far.
He played his first MLB game of the year May 14, going 2-for-3 with a two-run single in a 7-2 win over the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park.
He was able to continue that momentum, hitting .260 with five homers, 16 RBI and a .858 OPS.
Rodriguez’s OPS+ of 133 is 33 points above the league average, so, yeah, he’s been pretty good.
But he went on the IL July 8, three days after getting hit with a pitch against the Washington Nationals, with a left glute strain. He’s on the IL retroactive to July 6, which means he was eligible to come off it last Thursday.
Flores has appeared in just eight games for the Pirates, with six of them coming after Rodriguez’s injury led to him joining the big league roster. In 15 ABs, Flores is hitting .267 with a .421 OBP.
Catcher Shawn Ross is now the team’s backup.
Ross, a 26-year-old, has played in 55 games across AA Altoona and AAA Indianapolis this season, hitting .181 with 10 homers and 25 RBI.
In other injury news, reliever Chris Devinski is starting a rehab assignment with the Bradenton Marauders in Single-A.
Devinski hadn’t pitched since May 2, when he was controversially ejected after hitting Sal Stewart of the Cincinnati Reds with a pitch.
In three games with Pittsburgh this season, Devinski had a 7.71 ERA, albeit in just 2.1 innings.
Right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio is with the team and has a locker in PNC Park a day after being acquired from the San Diego Padres.
The post Injury Updates on Pirates Catchers appeared first on Pittsburgh Baseball Now.
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