Rodney Darien Theophile Cuthbert (born September 16, 1999) is a Nicaraguan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Mississippi Mud Monsters The Mississippi Mud Monsters are a professional baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi. The Mud Monsters compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the West Division, in the Midwest Conference. The Mud Monsters play its home games at th ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

Career

Washington Nationals

Theophile grew up on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, in the city of

Pearl Lagoon Pearl Lagoon () is a municipality that is often time called just Lagoon and was historically known as English Bank. It is located in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region of Nicaragua. It is the most important town of the largest coastal lag ...

. He began playing baseball at age 12. Originally a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, Theophile was discovered by professional baseball scout Alex Mongrío, who recognized his potential as a pitcher. In 2015, Theophile traveled to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

to train at the MVP Rivera Sport Academy. He participated in an international showcase for

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

organizations in early 2016 in the Dominican Republic—the only Nicaraguan prospect at that showcase, ''

El Nuevo Diario ''El Nuevo Diario'' was a Nicaraguan newspaper, with offices in the capital Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central Ame ...

'' reported at the time. While training in the Dominican Republic, Theophile sharpened his

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

and improved the velocity of his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

to top out above . The

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

expressed interest in Theophile, reportedly signing him as an international amateur free agent in 2017, shortly after Theophile's 18th birthday. However, the deal was never finalized and ultimately fell through. Theophile, an admirer of

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

pitcher

Max Scherzer Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984), nicknamed "Mad Max", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tige ...

, subsequently signed with Washington for a $20,000 bonus. At the time he signed with the Nationals, Theophile was listed at and topped out at a reported on his fastball, with a Nationals scout telling ''

La Prensa La Prensa may refer to: Argentina * ''La Prensa'' (Buenos Aires) Bolivia * ''La Prensa'' (La Paz), a newspaper in Bolivia Chile * ''La Prensa'' (Curicó) Cuba * ''Prensa Latina'', the official state news agency of Cuba Ecuador * ''La Pren ...

'' he expected Theophile to further increase his velocity during the course of his development. Theophile made his professional debut for the Nationals' rookie-level affiliate, the

Gulf Coast League Nationals The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The t ...

, but struggled to an 0-4 record and 10.67 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 10 games. Theophile missed the entirety of the 2019 season after undergoing

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

. He additionally did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2021, Theophile was assigned to begin the season with the Low-A

Fredericksburg Nationals The Fredericksburg Nationals are a Minor League Baseball team that is the Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and play their home games at Virginia Credit Union Stadium, with a capacity of ...

, where he compiled a 4-11 record and 5.56 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 89 innings pitched over 22 starts. In 2022, he pitched for Fredericksburg and the High-A

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. Fra ...

, accumulating a 6-8 record and 3.25 ERA with 110 strikeouts in innings pitched across 24 games (21 starts). Theophile made 10 appearances (nine starts) for Wilmington in 2023, logging an 0-3 record and 3.48 ERA with 39 strikeouts across innings pitched. Theophile split the 2024 season between High-A Wilmington and the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

, posting a cumulative 5-6 record and 3.53 ERA with 93 strikeouts in innings pitched across 20 starts. He elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2024.

Mississippi Mud Monsters

On March 6, 2025, Theophile signed with the

of the

. On July 8, he signed a contract extension with the team.

Personal life

Theophile is a cousin of infielder Cheslor Cuthbert on his mother's side. His parents separated when he was 8 years old. His father instilled in him an interest in baseball, taking him to games when he was a boy, while his mother, a former member of the Nicaragua women's national basketball team, preferred that he take up

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

instead. Theophile's father died of a heart attack in 2016, at age 39, while Theophile was abroad for training in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and the Dominican Republic.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theophile, Rodney Living people 1999 births Gulf Coast Nationals players Fredericksburg Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Nicaraguan baseball players Wilmington Blue Rocks players 2023 World Baseball Classic players