Yankees' Carlos Rodon not particularly impressive in final tuneup
Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon walks off the field after being taken out of the game in the fourth inning of a spring training game against the Rays on March 6 in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Charlie Neibergall
TAMPA, Fla. — As final tuneups for the regular season go, this one was, well, final.
And that’s about all that can be said of Carlos Rodon’s fifth start of the Grapefruit League season.
Rodon, whose first season in pinstripes was memorable in every negative way imaginable, gave up his fair share of hard contact in four innings of a 6-6 tie with the Phillies on Saturday afternoon at Steinbrenner Field. Rodon, who has had a mostly solid spring training overall (he brought a 2.91 ERA into the day), allowed six runs (five earned), seven hits and a walk in four innings against a Phillies lineup that included front-liners such as Bryson Stott, Whit Merrifield and Bryce Harper. Rodon threw 82 pitches, 50 for strikes.
Other than feeling his slider “was a little off,” Rodon felt strong physically, which is not insignificant after a 2023 season in which the lefthander, signed to a six-year, $162 million contract before last season, went 3-8 with a 6.85 ERA and made only 14 starts. He showed up to spring training with a far leaner body than he had a year earlier, when he went down with a forearm strain after one exhibition start, and his fastball velocity has overall been in a good place, sitting at 93 to 95 mph on Saturday and peaking at 96.
“Now it’s real,” said Rodon, who has tried to work a cutter into his repertoire more consistently. “Now these games matter. Whatever this spring training was, it’s gone. It doesn’t matter. Now these games count.”
Rodon is slated to pitch the second game of the regular season on Friday night in Houston.
“The biggest thing is, his stuff’s in a good place right now,” Aaron Boone said. “Performance-wise, pretty good spring for the most part, but I just go back to where he’s been the past four or five months. He’s laid a nice foundation to go out there and be successful.”
Rizzo/DJ update
Anthony Rizzo, a last-minute scratch before Friday night’s game with what the Yankees called “a tight lat,” reported for work Saturday not ready to play but feeling as if he could if it were the regular season.
“He felt like today was something he could play with,” Boone said.
Rizzo could return Monday, but even if he can't, the first baseman is expected to be ready for Thursday’s season opener.
DJ LeMahieu, who suffered a bone bruise after fouling a ball off his right foot March 16, has a murkier prognosis. He took ground balls and also hit inside for a second straight day on Saturday.
“Back-to-back days where he’s done some light work in the cage, but he’s still feeling it pretty good,” Boone said. “I do feel he’s moving in the right direction, but will it be on time [for Thursday]? We’ll see.”
If LeMahieu starts the season on the injured list, the Yankees can backdate it so he would miss only a handful of games. Oswaldo Cabrera would be the likely starter at third if LeMahieu isn’t available, but the Yankees are still scouring the market looking for infield depth. A move of some kind before Thursday can’t be ruled out .
Taking flight
After Saturday’s game, a split squad headlined by Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Volpe, Jose Trevino, Jonathan Loaisiga and Victor Gonzalez was off to the airport for a flight to Mexico City for a two-game series against Diablos Rojos del Mexico. The games are scheduled for Sunday afternoon and Monday night.
Few in the traveling party, one that included Boone, team president Randy Levine and senior adviser of baseball operations Omar Minaya, seemed particularly enthused about the trip, which had nothing to do with Mexico City. It was more the timing of the trip — packing up after nearly six weeks of spring training, traveling to a foreign country, getting to Houston in the early-morning hours Tuesday and working out at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday afternoon before opening the season Thursday afternoon.
There are “dog days” of spring trainng, much like the regular season. Had the trip been scheduled in the middle of the six weeks rather than at the end, it would have served as a de facto “break” from the at-times-mundane nature of spring training. The feelings in that case likely would have been far different.
“One of those things,” a member of the traveling party said, “that probably seemed like a good idea at the time.”
The remaining Yankees will finish their Grapefruit League season Monday afternoon against the Mets and will fly to Houston that night.
