Baseball

Brendan Rodgers Dislocates Left Shoulder

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Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers dislocated his left shoulder during today’s Cactus League matchup with the Rangers, manager Bud Black told reporters (including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). The injury occurred in the first inning when Rodgers dove to knock down a Robbie Grossman grounder.

While a trainer popped the shoulder back into place on the field, Rodgers was immediately replaced by Cole Tucker. The severity of the injury isn’t yet known, though it’s clear he’ll miss at least a notable chunk of Spring Training. “We’ll likely know more what his status is in the coming day,” Black told reporters after the game. “The degree of trauma in the joint will determine how long he’s out. Hopefully, the trauma to the shoulder capsule is not too bad and he’s only out a few weeks.

That an absence of a few weeks seems to be the best-case scenario puts Rodgers’ availability for Opening Day in jeopardy. Black likened the injury to one suffered by Colorado center fielder Yonathan Daza last summer. Daza was placed on the injured list on August 12 and reinstated on September 6. If Rodgers only misses a similar three-to-four week stretch, he could avoid an IL stint to start the season. That’d seemingly require a smooth recovery process without any serious damage, and even an ideal situation involves Rodgers missing a number of planned at-bats as players spend the next month getting reacclimated to game speed.

To the extent there’s a silver lining, it’s that the injury occurred to his non-throwing shoulder. During his 2019 rookie season, Rodgers underwent season-ending surgery to repair a labrum tear in his right shoulder. He also lost a few weeks during the abbreviated 2020 campaign to a capsular strain in his right shoulder. Today’s injury, at least, wasn’t to that previously troublesome joint.

It’s nevertheless a disappointing start to the upcoming season for the 26-year-old. He’s had stints on the IL in all four of his big league campaigns thus far thanks to right shoulder and hamstring concerns. Rodgers did appear in a personal-high 137 games last season, hitting .266/.325/.408 with 13 home runs, 30 doubles and a career-low 17.4% strikeout rate. After some initial struggles against big league pitching, he’s hit at a near average level the past couple seasons. Rodgers also rated favorably for his defense last year, with Defensive Runs Saved pegging him a massive 22 runs above average at second base. Statcast and Ultimate Zone Rating weren’t enamored to the same extent but all three metrics agreed he was better than par.

If Rodgers were forced to start the year on the IL, the club could choose from a handful of utility types to step in as his replacement. Alan Trejo might have the leg up considering he’s already on the 40-man roster. Tucker and former Tiger Harold Castro are in camp as non-roster players. Presumptive starting third baseman Ryan McMahon also has ample experience at second base and could move back to the keystone if Colorado wanted to pencil in Nolan Jones or Elehuris Montero at the hot corner. McMahon is an elite defensive third baseman, though, so the Rox might be reluctant to move him off that position for anything more than spot duty.

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