Players are often hurt in odd ways. Add Texas Rangers’ Joely Rodriguez to the list.

All that was conveyed to the media in spring training about left-hander Joely Rodriguez was that he sprained his left ankle during the offseason, with the assumption being that he had done so while preparing for the 2021 season.

Well, that’s not entirely accurate.

He did sprain his ankle in the offseason. Check. However, he wasn’t injured while running sprints or while practicing covering first base.

Rodriguez was injured while trying to be a good husband and an excited first-time father.

It was rainy Nov. 12 in the Dominican Republic, where he lives. His wife was due for a sonogram and needed a lift to the hospital.

“It was raining that day, it was wet, and I slipped on the floor and I had a sprained ankle,” said Rodriguez, who turned 29 two days later.

He didn’t think much of it at the time. He was still receiving treatment for the hamstring he strained in September. But it started bothering him when he began his ramp up for spring training.

Once at spring training, he knew the ankle wasn’t right.

“I starting feeling something bothering me,” Rodriguez said. “I didn’t want to try to be a man and start practicing and pitching with that hurt because I didn’t want something like that to get bigger.”

So, the Rangers took it slow with him. He didn’t make his 2021 debut until Saturday, and he turned in a key outing Monday against the Los Angeles Angels with a perfect eighth inning in which he struck out Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout to preserve the Rangers’ 6-4 lead.

All is well now, on the field and with his family. He and his wife welcomed their first child, a daughter, Feb. 8.