Pirates Catcher Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates won't have one of their catchers the rest of the season, who continues dealing with injury issues.

Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk announced that catcher Endy Rodríguez underwent surgery on his right elbow, addressing pain in his ulnar nerve.

Dr. Steve Shin and Dr. Neal ElAtrrache performed an ulnar nerve transposition on Rodríguez at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. Tomcyzk said that Rodríguez will return to full fitness by Spring Training in 2026.

This marks the second serious surgery that Rodríguez had on his throwing arm, after he suffered an injury during winter ball following the 2023 season and underwent reconstructive surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and flexor tendon on December 12.

He didn't play for almost the entirety of the 2024 season, aside from six games with Double-A Altoona and four games with Triple-A Indianapolis.

Rodríguez last started for the Pirates on June 6 in the series opener vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. He caught the first inning, but departed afterwards, with Henry Davis taking over as catcher.

The Pirates placed Rodríguez on the 10-day injured list on June 7 with right elbow discomfort and then transferred him from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list on June 13.

Rodríguez also dealt with injury problems earlier in the season, suffering a right index finger laceration that required stitches, after taking a curveball from star pitcher Paul Skenes off his throwing hand vs. the Washington Nationals at PNC Park on April 14.

Rodríguez went on the 10-day Injured List on April 15 and then eventually started a rehab assignment with  Indianapolis on May 14.

He played in eight games with Indianapolis, slashing .154/.241/.385 for an OPS of .626, with four hits in 26 at-bats, two home runs for four RBIs and three walks to five strikeouts.

Rodríguez came back to the Pirates after fellow catcher Joey Bart went on the seven-day concussion Injured List on May 28.

He finishes his 2025 season with a slash line of .173/.246/.250 for an OPS of .496 in 18 games, nine hits in 52 at-bats, four doubles, two RBIs and five walks to 14 strikeouts.

Rodríguez started eight of nine games at catcher, nine of 11 games at first base, with Spencer Horwitz out with a wrist injury early on in the campaign, and one start at designated hitter.

The Pirates will rely on both Davis and Bart at catcher the rest of the season, with 39 games remaining.