Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Are the Minnesota Twins getting ready to move one of the top prospects in their farm system at today’s 5 p.m. (CDT) trade deadline?
That’s what fans were wondering on Sunday when Emmanuel Rodriguez was scratched from the lineup down in Cedar Rapids, where the No. 52 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline recently began a rehab assignment at Single-A.
Emmanuel Rodriguez scratched with thumb soreness… reportedly
Dan Hayes (The Athletic) reported shortly after E-Rod was scratched that it was due to left thumb soreness, not because of an imminent trade.
Rodriguez himself then confirmed as much late Sunday afternoon, when he told Cedar Rapids reporter Jeff Johnson (The Gazette) that getting jammed by a pitch Saturday was the reason for his soreness, but that he’s healthy and “good to go”.
Emmanuel Rodriguez said postgame he got jammed by pitch last night, which made his surgically repaired thumb sore. So he did not play today for @CRKernels. Said he did not know if he was staying with the club for its trip this week to South Bend, or headed elsewhere. #MnTwins
— Jeff Johnson (@jeje66) August 2, 2026
“I got jammed in my first AB last night,” Rodriguez said after the Kernels fell to Peoria, 3-2, at Veterans Memorial Stadium. “After the game, it was a little sore, so I wanted to take a day off. But I can say I’m healthy. I’m good to go.”
Rodriguez, 23, tore his UCL in that same thumb on May 1, an injury that required surgery and has cost him over three months of a crucial season in his professional baseball career.
Related: MN Twins Still Shopping + Latest on Larnach
Had he remained healthy, it’s likely E-Rod — who was hitting .247 with a .923 OPS (6 HR, 18 RBI) in his first 25 games this year at Triple-A St. Paul prior to injury — would already have made his big league debut at some point this summer.
Make it a two homer game for Emmanuel Rodriguez, his sixth of the season. It also marks six home run for us today, tied for the third most in franchise history pic.twitter.com/sPn9NLPC7Q
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) April 28, 2026
Instead, as has been the case for much of his five years in the Minnesota Twins organization, Emmanuel Rodriguez has been on the injured list dealing with a physical ailment preventing him from performing his job.
However, while the Twins may be claiming E-Rod’s scratch over the weekend was injury-related, and nothing more, it sounds like Hayes caught a whiff of something different while sniffing around on the subject yesterday.
While the local insider began his E-Rod reporting by tamping down trade rumors, he ended by floating the top prospect as “an enticing trade chip” for a MN Twins front office that remains “hungry” to add pitching before the 5 p.m. CDT MLB trade deadline.
Though they’ve acquired two pitchers already, the Twins are hungry to add more at the major-league level and Rodriguez, whose injuries have limited him to 324 career games, could be an enticing trade chip.
Related: MN Twins Authorized to Spend More at Trade Deadline
If the Minnesota Twins can get a requisite return for Emmanuel Rodriguez, then moving him could make a ton of sense. However, the back-end right-handed reliever they’ve been reportedly chasing is not that.
Should MN Twins trade Emmanuel Rodriguez?
Not only do they already have Byron Buxton in center field, but the Twins also have an even high-rated outfield prospect, Walker Jenkins (No. 14 overall per MLB Pipeline), at Triple-A, pushing for a spot in the big leagues.
They also have fill-in young players who either have plenty of MLB experience (Matt Wallner, Austin Martin), or are ready for larger big league roles (Alan Roden).
With that being said, will other teams mortgage a high-end starter for a return package from Minnesota that features a prospect with the injury history that Emmanuel Rodriguez has, especially coming off a three-month injury absence?
I guess we will find that out sooner than later.
Mentioned in this article: Emmanuel Rodriguez MLB Trade Deadline MLB Trade Rumors
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