Return Date Confirmed
The wait is finally over for New York fans. Tomorrow night, Carlos Rodón returns from the injured list to face the Baltimore Orioles. This news comes after weeks of uncertainty regarding his elbow health. The Yankees officially announced the move, confirming he starts the first game of this week’s three-game set. He has been out since late June with left elbow inflammation. That injury sidelined him right when the team needed his power the most.
His path back to the big leagues was not a straight line. Two rehab starts preceded his return. The left-hander looked particularly sharp in his most recent outing for Double-A Somerset. According to MLB.com Yankees, he struck out seven batters while allowing just two hits. He tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings in that start. The team limited him to 58 pitches to keep his arm fresh. A fairly restrictive pitch count is expected for him tomorrow night as he eases back into action.
Stats and History
Rodón brings a strong track record to this rotation spot. Before hitting the shelf in June, he posted a 3.30 ERA in nine starts. He threw 46 innings during that stretch and maintained a 10.1 K/9 ratio. His season debut did not come until May 10 due to offseason surgery. He needed surgery on October 15 to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. The procedure also involved shaving a bone spur. Even with that delay, he was 4-0 with a 2.Before going on the IL, he posted a 97 ERA in his last six outings.
With New York, he won a career-high 18 games last season. He finished sixth in Cy Young voting after posting a 3.09 ERA in 33 starts. He is now 41-28 with a 3.93 ERA in 88 starts since joining the Yankees. The best pitching staff in the league should see further depth from his return. The team is in the fourth season of his $162 million, six-year contract. That investment is finally paying off as he steps back onto the mound.
Rotation Shake-Up
The Yankees face a tough choice on their rotation depth now. Will Warren stands as the most obvious candidate to be bumped out of the rotation. Ryan Weathers, his mid-rotation mate, has outpitched him over the course of the summer. Warren would have been on full rest for tomorrow night anyway. Perhaps he could be involved in a piggyback sort of setup as the Yankees try to slowly increase Rodón’s pitch count. This approach allows the team to manage workload while getting a top-tier arm back.
The team previously said Rodón would make a minor league start on Tuesday. That plan changed quickly as he proved ready for the bigs. He received multiple shots, including platelet-rich plasma injections, during his recovery. He threw 29 of 48 pitches for strikes in his first rehab outing for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Now he is set to face the Orioles at Camden Yards. The Yankees hope this move stabilizes their rotation for a critical stretch. If Rodón stays healthy, the ceiling for this team just got much higher.
