Former Pirates utilityman Sean Rodriguez will have shoulder surgery and will be out the next three to five months following his car crash, Ken Rosenthal writes. The news precipitated the Braves’ acquisition of Brandon Phillips this week.
The back story here is that, a couple weeks ago, Rodriguez and his family were driving in Miami and were struck by a man driving a stolen police cruiser. Rodriguez was initially reported to not be seriously hurt, although it appears that wasn’t the case. The rest of his family suffered significant injuries. The driver of the police cruiser died.
Rodriguez, of course, headed to the Braves this offseason after the Pirates failed to re-sign him. The accident comes on the heels of an unexpectedly brilliant 2016 season in which he batted .270/.349/.510 while playing seven positions. Now, it appears he won’t get the chance to follow that up. At least he got paid first, but I’m sure having to wait so long to play this season is hurting him at least as much as his injury is. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery.