Yankees' Carlos Rodon didn't think the IL was necessary for his latest injury
Carlos Rodon of the Yankees is checked out on the mound during the third inning against the Astros at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
CHICAGO – Carlos Rodon fought the decision but quickly realized it was a debate he had no chance of winning.
“I gave it my best go,” Rodon said Wednesday, making his first public comments since being put on the 15-day IL Monday with a left hamstring strain, a move the pitcher didn’t feel was necessary. “I felt like I had a good argument, but it’s not up to me.”
Rodon, who played catch Tuesday at Yankee Stadium and joined the team here Wednesday, threw a flat ground session at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“I feel pretty good,” Rodon, 30, said. “Didn’t feel anything.”
Both Rodon and the Yankees believe the pitcher will come off the IL when the 15 days are up.
Rodon, signed to a six-year, $162-million free agent contract in the off-season, left Sunday’s start against the Astros with a cramp in his hamstring. He had allowed five runs, three hits, and two walks in 2 2/3 innings, raising his ERA to 7.33. Rodon, who didn’t make his season debut until July 7 after suffering a forearm strain in early March – and then a back injury late in the rehab process – has a long history of injuries in his career. But the lefthander, 1-4 in six starts since returning, did not think this one raised to the level of requiring an IL stint.
“It kind of is what it is now. I understand that they’re trying to protect me and this is a long haul kind of thing,” Rodon said. “Obviously, I want to be on the mound and compete, as any one of my teammates should be the same way. But it’s one of those things that it’s not up to me.”
Rodon’s extensive history of injuries was the primary reason the Yankees felt the need to protect him.
He spent time on the IL in 2016 with a sprained left wrist; in 2017 it was bursitis in his left biceps and then left shoulder inflammation later in the season. He spent 2018 recovering from left shoulder surgery. 2019 brought left elbow inflammation that would lead to Tommy John surgery and, in 2020, left shoulder inflammation led to another IL stint. In 2021, left shoulder fatigue did the same.
“It’s pretty frustrating,” Rodon said of landing on the IL yet again. “But at this point, it’s one of those things that’s behind me. I was out there competing and felt the hamstring. Just kind of put that behind me and get ready, 13 days from now, to take the ball. That’s kind of where I’m at – looking ahead, not behind.”
DJ a late scratch
DJ LeMahieu, initially in Wednesday’s lineup at third base and batting sixth, was scratched about 50 minutes before the start of the game with right calf tightness, according to the YES Network. LeMahieu, hitting a disappointing .240 with eight homers and a .688 OPS, was on the field for pregame work but appeared to cut the session short. It has been a struggle much of the season for the utility man, who had a miserable final two months of last season with a right toe injury that kept him off the playoff roster.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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