Carlos

Rodón

Rodón is finally ready to return to game action after working his way back from elbow inflammation that put him on the injured list back in early July. The 33-year-old southpaw will likely need a handful of outings before he’s an option for New York’s rotation mix later this month.

The 33-year-old southpaw finally appears to be making tangible strides in his return from the left elbow inflammation that has had him shelved since the start of July. He’s still expected to need at least one minor league rehab start before he’s cleared to rejoin the Yankees’ rotation.

Rodón would likely face hitters once or two before beginning what should be a fairly brief rehab assignment. He’s been on the IL since July 3 with elbow inflammation.

Rodón has been out for two weeks with elbow inflammation, so it’s certainly good news that he has already begun to throw. However, there are many steps to go before he’s back on the mound with the Yankees. We saw Mick Abel land on the injured list with a similar injury earlier this season, and he was even able to make multiple rehab starts before the injury cropped up again and required surgery. We’re hopeful Rodón can avoid that same fate, but the Yankees will be cautious with their left-hander, who also had surgery this offseason to remove bone spurs from his elbow.

Not great. We’d seen no sign of Rodón being hurt in his last start, so hopefully this is something that just needs to be managed rather than something that could lead to surgery. More updates to come, assuredly. Rodón had a 3.30 ERA in nine starts so far this year, striking out 52 and allowing just 32 hits in 46 1/3 innings pitched.

The one hit, a little liner from Caleb Durbin that dropped in front of the center fielder, unfortunately followed a walk and an Oswaldo Cabrera error in the fourth. Rodón did walk four batters in all and threw 96 pitches in five innings, so even after a quick fifth, he didn’t come back out for the sixth. He still hasn’t thrown more than six innings in any of his nine starts this year, but he also hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of them. He’ll take a 4-2 record and a 3.30 ERA into a home start against the Twins next weekend.

Rodón gave up six hits, walked two and struck out five. He improved to 4-2 with the win. Rodón gave up two runs in the third inning on a wild pitch and a two-out RBI single by Dillon Dingler. He gave up another run on back-to-back doubles in the sixth inning. Rodón has a 3.70 ERA and 3.88 xFIP in 41 1/3 innings over eight starts this season. He’s lined up to face the Red Sox on the road this weekend.

Facing off with the team who drafted him, Rodón did well to work around plenty of hits. The only blemish against him wound up being a three-run home run from Colson Montgomery. Otherwise, he fought through spotty command by missing tons of bats. In all, he forced 13 swings-and-misses with his fastball, slider, and changeup each inducing at least three. On the season, he has a 3.50 ERA, 41 strikeouts, and 20 walks across 36 innings since coming off the injured list. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Tigers and Red Sox with both starts on the road.

Rodón gave up a leadoff homer to Angel Martínez in the first. The other runs came in the fourth, when Rodón issued two of his three walks of the day and then gave up a double to Austin Hedges. Rodón finished up nicely from there, retiring the final eight batters he faced. He’s 2-2 with a 3.19 ERA, and he’ll see his old friends the White Sox next time out.

Only two batters actually notched a hit against Rodón, including an RBI single off the bat of Stuart Fairchild in the fourth inning. Rodon got whiffs on 38 percent of swings against him, with his velocity playing close to a mile per hour up from his seasonal average. An unfortunate no-decision here, but Rodón should be started with confidence against the Guardians in a run-it-back start next week.