Héctor Junior Rodríguez

Héctor Junior Rodríguez (born March 11, 2004) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2026.

Professional career

Rodríguez signed with the New York Mets as an international free agent in January 2021. He made his professional debut that season with the Dominican Summer League Mets.

On July 28, 2022, the Mets traded Rodríguez and Jose Acuña to the Cincinnati Reds for Tyler Naquin and Phillip Diehl. He started his Reds career that year with the Arizona Complex League Reds and Daytona Tortugas. In 2023, he played with Daytona and the Dayton Dragons.

Rodríguez played 2024 with Dayton and started 2025 with the Chattanooga Lookouts. On November 18, 2025, the Reds added Rodríguez to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

Rodríguez was optioned to the Triple-A Louisville Bats to begin the 2026 season. Following the trade of Nathaniel Lowe to the Cleveland Guardians, Rodríguez was called up to the Reds to debut on August 4 against the Athletics. Rodriguez got his first hit on August 7 versus the Athletics - a double. He hit his first home run on August 23 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.