Carlos Rodon enjoys great start; Yankees can only hope for more days like these
Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon throws in the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Charlie Neibergall
TAMPA, Fla. — As desperate as the Yankees are for any shreds of positivity regarding their now ace-less rotation, they still aren’t foolish enough to get overly excited about Carlos Rodon’s performance Monday at Steinbrenner Field.
Throwing 5 2/3 hitless innings is no small feat at any level, Grapefruit League or not, and it’s certainly better than getting whacked around by prospects wearing the same uniform, as Rodon did last month. As for Monday’s opponents, they were the Phillies in name only, as the travel squad included just three regulars: Brandon Marsh, Alec Bohm and Johan Rojas.
As for the numbers that really mattered, look to the radar gun, which continued to display an encouraging uptick in velocity. Rodon’s four-seam fastball averaged 94.5 mph, with a max of 96.4. We’re not talking Randy Johnson here, but if Rodon’s slider is functional, he can be dangerous at those speeds — to the other team, for a change.
“It’s nice to have,” Rodon said. “I don’t want to always have to rely on it — I want it in my back pocket when I want to go get it. But I got to be able to pitch without it as well.”
And that’s where Rodon has to focus on his progress: at the granular level. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, start by start. It’s going to be a while — if ever — before Rodon is able to make people forget about last season’s debacle, and the label of $162 million bust currently sticks to him like game-chewed Bazooka.
But Rodon isn’t going to get anywhere trying to out-pitch his past or showing he has something to prove or feeling like he has to make up for the loss of Gerrit Cole. Every time Rodon stands at his locker, he’ll get those same questions, and his only way clear of them is to ignore those narratives.
We’ve seen plenty of players spontaneously combust in New York’s cauldron, and Rodon was pretty much using lighter fluid as cologne a year ago. Putting out that fire, from a mental standpoint, will determine whether Rodon becomes a solution for this suddenly suspect Yankees rotation — or just another problem.
He can forget the swagger for now. It’s more about self-esteem, and fortifying what crumbled during his first season in the Bronx.
“It’s coming along,” Rodon said afterward. “Just keep building confidence, and today was another good step. On to the next one, and keep refining some things.”
Rodon went heavy with his fastball, throwing 49 four-seamers during his 72-pitch outing, with 16 sliders. Beyond that, it was two changeups, a pair of curve balls and three cutters — not much of a varied attack. He says he’ll go to those other pitches more once the season begins, and his starts presumably stretch out longer, but for now we’ll have to take his word on that.
From the Yankees’ perspective, they don’t want him overthinking the situation. Just get people out for now. Maybe that’s a modest baseline for a pitcher with a $27 million salary, but Rodon is already a salvage operation in Season Two of his six-year deal. The Yankees aren’t as concerned with getting their money’s worth as merely having a capable front-line starter to rely on. And their words reflected that after Rodon fired a second straight respectable outing (9 IP, 1 hit, 8 Ks).
“He’s in a good place,” manager Aaron Boone said. “And I’m going to keep saying this, good, bad or indifferent: it’s just about stacking really good days, and that’s what he’s been doing for months now. Get ready, go to the post. And if he keeps doing that, where he’s at, in the end he’ll be successful.”
Rodon’s contract will never allow him to be just another member of the rotation. But with Cole on the shelf for a couple of months because of elbow inflammation, Rodon lost some of the cover that a reigning Cy Young winner can provide. He’s the highest paid question mark in a stable of somewhat unstable starting pitchers, on a team that’s supposed to be a World Series contender.
When you add Rodon’s baggage from last season (6.85 ERA in only 64 1/3 innings), it’s a lot to carry into Houston next week. The Yankees will settle for healthy and whatever rosy stats he can muster in spring training. The Grapefruit League is just an extended dress rehearsal, but for someone like Rodon, it does count. Clinging to these performances is all both he and the Yankees can do at the moment. Other than maybe cross their fingers.
“I thought he was getting the ball where he wanted to all day,” Boone said. “He had a better presence up and down, which made his slider a little more effective. It was a sharp outing.”
One that also came with a surprise ending. After Rodon retired the first two Phillies in the sixth inning, he looked over to see Hall of Famer Joe Torre strutting toward the mound, a sight that no one in the ballpark expected. Least of all Rodon, who figured he had another lefty to face before his day was through.
“I look up, and I’m like, Oh, it’s Joe Torre,” Rodon said, laughing. “I should give him the ball. I can’t really say much here.”
The Yankees aren’t used to seeing Rodon exit in a good mood. They’ll take it for now.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
