Top Mariners prospect Rodriguez suffers wrist fracture

SEATTLE — Top Seattle Mariners prospect Julio Rodriguez suffered a hairline fracture of his left wrist during a drill, manager Scott Servais said Thursday.

Rodriguez was going to be on Seattle’s taxi squad for the upcoming season but is considered one of the top prospects in the organization and has been rated among the top 20 in all of baseball heading into the season.

The 19-year-old dived for a ball in right field during a defensive drill at the end of Wednesday’s workout and jammed his wrist. He left the field with a trainer and Servais said X-rays revealed the fracture. Rodriguez will have additional tests on the injury.

“Feel horrible for Julio. A young player in a drill and he’s going all out. That’s what we expect of our guys, but unfortunately that happened,” Servais said.

Rodriguez hit .326 with 12 home runs and 69 RBI in a pair of stops in Single-A last season. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodriguez was expected to start this season in Double-A.

This is the second consecutive year in which Rodriguez has been sidelined with an injury to the left wrist/hand area. On April 12, 2019, Rodriguez was struck on the hand by a fastball. He suffered a hairline fracture of the third metacarpal and missed two months while recovering.