Manny Rodriguez

Jose Manuel Rodriguez Espinoza

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 187 lb.

• Born July 28, 1982 in Guasave, Sinaloa Mexico

BR Minors page

Jose Rodriguez has played for the Mexican national team.

It is unclear when Jose's professional career began; Pat Doyle's database lists him as playing in the 2000-2002 Mexican League, only becoming a regular the last year, but there are so many Jose Rodriguezes in the minors at this point that this could easily be the line of another player.

Rodriguez was playing with the Chillicothe Paints by 2004, hitting .258/.344/.358. He had an amazing '05 campaign, batting .380/.438/.496 and setting the Frontier League record with 140 hits. He won the Frontier League batting title and was named as the circuit's All-Star shortstop.

That performance earned Jose a shot with the Saraperos de Saltillo. In 2006, he produced at a .344/.374/.481 rate as one of the club's best contact hitters. In '07, he hit .333/.385/.447 for the Saraperos.

In the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament, Rodriguez was the third-youngest player on a veteran Mexican squad (Ivan Terrazas and Arturo López were younger). He backed up Heber Gomez at third base and was 1 for 7 with two walks at the plate.

Rodriguez split 2008 between Saltillo (.295/.349/.435) and the Lincoln Saltdogs (.344/.400/.516). In 2009, he hit .297/.355/.504 for Saltillo, with 17 home runs. He scored 90 runs in 95 games, finishing 5th in the Liga in that category.