Elmer

Rodríguez

Rodríguez can’t be recalled in the next 15 days unless he replaces an injured player, so that appears to take him out of the running to start this weekend. What the Yankees will do in that spot remains to be seen since they have said Gerrit Cole (elbow) will make one more rehab start.

Rodríguez allowed five hits, walked one and struck out one. All three of his starts for the Yankees have seen him get between 12 and 14 outs. He’ll take one more turn next weekend against the Pirates before Gerrit Cole is activated.

Rodríguez will get the nod instead of Ryan Weathers, who was previously scheduled to start the finale of the subway series. Rodríguez is taking the rotation spot of Max Fried (elbow), and the 22-year-old is considered one of the better pitching prospects at the upper levels. He’ll likely stick in the rotation until Gerrit Cole (elbow) returns near the start of June.

Rodríguez receives another opportunity in the big leagues with Yankees ace Max Fried landing on the injured list with a bone bruise in his elbow. The 22-year-old top pitching prospect allowed five runs with a 5/8 K/BB ratio across 8 2/3 innings during a pair of starts in his first taste of the majors a couple weeks ago. He’s talented enough to be fantasy-relevant, but he’s likely to wind up back in the minors once Gerrit Cole (elbow) is ready to make his season debut in late May or early June.

Rodríguez heads back to the minors to clear a rotation spot for Carlos Rodón (elbow) to return from the injured list this weekend. The Yankees will bring up some bullpen help until then. The 22-year-old pitching prospect walked four batters and allowed three runs over 4 2/3 innings on Tuesday in a no-decision against the Rangers. He figures to get another shot in New York at some point later this summer.

Rodriguez gave up six hits, walked four and struck out two. He left with the bases loaded in the fifth, but Brent Headrick was able to strike out Sam Haggerty to escape the jam. This leaves Rodriguez with a 5.19 ERA in his little two-start audition. With Carlos Rodón set to rejoin the rotation next time through, Rodriguez could be sent down prior to Wednesday’s game.

Rodriguez walked two in the first, but he was saved in the middle of those on an odd caught stealing from Brandon Nimmo that should have obstruction on Jazz Chisholm Jr. except that it also should have been interference on the batter for getting in the catcher’s way. Neither was called, and maybe it all worked out in the end. Rodriguez went on to pitch out of a bases loaded jam in the second before easy third and fourth innings. The fifth opened with a HBP and a walk, which should have gotten him lifted. However, he was left in to allow two singles afterwards, putting the Yankees down 2-0. He was replaced then, and Brent Headrick retired three in a two to strand both baserunners. Rodriguez is expected to make at least one more start before Carlos Rodón returns to take over his spot.

This move was reported on Tuesday, but is now official. Rodriguez will make his MLB debut against the Rangers, but is not a recommended add in most redraft fantasy leagues because this could be his only start before the Yankees get Carlos Rodon back in the rotation.

The 21-year-old is off to a great start at Triple-A, posting a 1.27 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in 21 1/3 innings. He has just 20 strikeouts over that stretch, so he has yet to show the swing-and-miss upside that he displayed at Double-A last year. It may eventually become a larger part of his game, but it’s fair to wonder how many bats he’s going to miss right away at the big league level. The Yankees also have Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole on their way back in a couple of weeks, so this will likely be a short audition for Rodríguez. That makes him hard to add in fantasy leagues outside of deeper leagues, where you’d be willing to stream him for this debut.

The 22-year-old has a 1.27 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 20/7 K/BB ratio in 21 1/3 innings at Triple-A to start the season. He was sitting 95 mph with his fastball on Wednesday and posted 40 percent whiff rates on both his slider and changeup. His fastball itself doesn’t get many whiffs, which has limited his strikeout upside, but he has five pitches he trusts and has shown great command of the strike zone. With Gerrit Cole (elbow) and Carlos Rodon (elbow) both likely to return in May, there likely won’t be many innings at the big league level for Rodríguez this season, but he is setting himself up as a future piece in the Yankees’ rotation or a really valuable trade chip.