New York Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón will make at least one more Minor League rehab start before returning to the active roster, according to manager Aaron Boone. Rodón recently made a rehab appearance for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday against Rochester, marking his first game situation in more than a month following a stint on the injured list for left elbow inflammation.
Rehab Outing and Injury Timeline
During his start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Rodón allowed three runs and three hits over 2 2/3 innings, according to MLB.com. His outing included a home run surrendered to Seaver King on his third pitch of the evening, followed by a two-run triple off the bat of Phillip Glasser in the third inning. Rodón walked two batters and struck out four while throwing 29 of his 48 pitches for strikes. “It feels good; it feels normal,” Rodón told MLB.com prior to the game. “I feel like it’s just to get the innings count up, get the pitches up, and I’ll be ready when I’m ready.”
Rodón’s last Major League appearance took place on June 28, after which the Yankees placed him on the 15-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation. Prior to that injury, his season had already faced interruptions. His debut was delayed until May 10 while he recovered from offseason left elbow surgery. Across nine starts before landing on the injured list this season, Rodón posted a 4-2 record with a 3.30 ERA.
Rotation Plans and Workload Management
Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated that the team is considering using Rodón in a “piggyback” role upon his return to help him build stamina. Boone noted that the coaching staff is weighing whether to have the left-hander make one more rehab appearance before deploying him in that relief-sharing capacity at whatever pitch count he reaches. Such a move is expected to impact pitchers Ryan Weathers or Will Warren, either of whom could transition to logging innings out of the bullpen.
Meanwhile, the team is actively monitoring pitcher workloads as the postseason approaches. Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, and Max Fried stand as the primary anchors of the projected playoff rotation according to MLB.com. Weathers has thrown a career-high 121 innings across 22 starts, while Warren has logged 114 innings in 23 games after pitching 162 1/3 innings during his rookie campaign. “There’s definitely a lot of uncertainty,” Warren told MLB.com regarding the shifting rotation dynamics. “I think it’s a good thing that we have all these arms. At the end of the day, my job is to take the ball every time I get it.”
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