The Yankees announced that left-hander Carlos Rodón has been sent to Double-A Somerset to begin a rehab assignment. Additionally, outfielder Harrison Bader was activated from the injured list, taking the spot of infielder/outfielder Oswaldo Cabrera, who was optioned following Sunday night’s game.
Rodón, 30, became a Yankee this winter by signing a six-year, $162MM contract but has yet to make his regular season debut in pinstripes. He was diagnosed with a forearm strain in March and began the season on the injured list. He initially seemed set for a brief absence, as he started working his way back in April. However, he was then waylaid by some back tightness that was eventually diagnosed by doctors as being a “chronic” issue.
In early May, the lefty received a cortisone injection and has been ramping up his activities since then. He started throwing shortly after that, eventually progressing to mound work and facing live hitters. Now he’s set for the final hurdle, pitching in minor league games. Rehab assignments for pitchers can last up to 30 days, so it might still be a few weeks before he rejoins the Yankees. But it’s nonetheless a good sign that their big offseason pitching acquisition is getting closer.
Health has been a key factor in Rodón’s career. He was drafted by the White Sox with the third overall pick in 2014 and quickly became one of the top prospects in the sport. He performed well in 2015 and 2016 but then injuries started holding him back. Biceps bursitis and arthroscopic shoulder surgery made him miss big parts of his 2017 and 2018 seasons before Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2019 and 2020 campaigns.
The trajectory got much better in the years after that, as he came back in 2021 with 24 starts and a 2.37 ERA. He was eventually shut down with some shoulder fatigue in August, but it was nonetheless encouraging after so many frustrating setbacks. He became a free agent and there was still some hesitation from the open market, forcing him to settle for a two-year, $44MM deal with the Giants, though one that would allow him to opt out as long as he pitched 110 innings. He took another step forward by making 31 starts last year with a 2.88 ERA, 33.4% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 34.1% ground ball rate.
Based on that strong platform, it was an easy decision for him to opt out and cash in. Since he seemed to be moving away from his injury-prone label, the Yankees took a shot on him but his health hasn’t cooperated thus far. He’s now walking a familiar road, working his way back to the mound after a significant absence.
His return would certainly be a welcome development for the Yankees, who have also been without Frankie Montas all year while Nestor Cortes posted a 5.16 ERA before landing on the injured list himself. Luis Severino is back with the team after his own IL stint but he has a 6.30 ERA through his first six starts. Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt and Domingo Germán have avoided the IL thus far, though Germán missed a couple of turns due to a sticky stuff suspension. Amid all of those challenges, the club has had to turn to depth options like Randy Vásquez and Jhony Brito on occasion.
Despite all of that shuffling, the club has managed to tread water, currently sporting a record of 39-33 that’s good enough for the final Wild Card spot in the American League. But with three teams within a game and a half and a few more clubs lurking just behind those, the importance of each game is going to be magnified going forward, making the return of a difference-maker like Rodón a potentially significant boost for the Yankees.
Don’t want to rain on the Yankees parade but Rodon will never be worth that contract. They just swooped in and offered way more than they had to IMO. But I’ve been wrong before. I just saw him for years with the Sox. Brilliant when he pitches, But expect multiple trips to the IL. Just hope it isn’t the 60 day IL often.
Our parade has already been rained on this year.
But I was starting to think that Rodon was a myth, like the Easter Bunny or Big Foot.
Judge’s big foot started the precipitation.
Big Foot is not a myth. He evolved into Bobon Marjanovic.
Or winning a series in this century again.
I’m still not convinced that he is not a myth. I will believe it when he’s pitching for the big club.
Rodin should have only ever received a 1-2 year deal at a slightly higher AAV like 1 year/$37.5M or 2 years/$60M w/ some kind of an option.
So what you’re saying is that the Yankees were bidding against themselves just like Arson Judge?
OK, I’ll bite. Once he became a FA, what price do you think you could have gotten him to agree to, in lieu of matching SF’s offer?
Maybe I’ve misunderstood. SF offered only the qualifying offer. Who else bid on Rodon?
Sorry, I was referring to Arson Judge’s $360M offer from SF. (They had zero intention of bidding for Rodon’s services.)
In that case, I’d say nothing. Judge would have signed with the Giants had the offer not been exceeded. That seems clear. The idea that there was some short term high AAV option just isn’t supported by anything.
Yes. I was asking YankeesBleacherCreature about his assertion that the Yankees bid against themselves in Judge’s case.
I think the Creature was implying that RODON was signed in a bid against themselves like Judge. I would disagree that the Yankees outbid themselves for Judge. However, I don’t think Judge was really going to leave he was just using his leverage to get the most he could. The Yankees were bidding against themselves for Rodon IMO. I didn’t hear anybody else offering that kind of money, But I could be mistaken.
No, I don’t believe that the Yankees bid against themselves for Judge. I was asking Trillionaire if he really thinks that Rodon would’ve signed only a two-year deal with any team. I also don’t think the Yankees were bidding against themselves for Rodon. Some players want negotiations to stay quiet.
Well whether they did or didn’t it was a worse deal than Heywards deal with the Cubs. I mean at least he played all the time. Sure he sucked but at least he showed up.
I agree with you bleacher creature. The Yankees did not need Rodon that much, if they could’ve got them cheaper they would have done so. whether they should have or not, that’s a conversation for another day(specially since they had other more pressing needs, and obviously quite limited funds lol).
Lol giants are glad they didn’t sign Rodon and Correa. Rodon has how many full seasons under his belt?
Last season was his prove it deal. Someone was signing him for a longer deal like the Yankees had. I was actually surprised that he took a deal without opt outs or buyouts at the end. Would think he would want to b locked in late into his 30s if possible.
I feel like he knew this would happen sooner rather than later. So he took the deal at $27.5M AAV over 6 years rather than 1-2 years at the highest possible salary followed by low salary prove it again deals.
Some guys are built for 1-2 year deals. Rodon is a poster child for that.
I’d be shocked if the entire deal was a disaster. I’m hoping it’s like The World According to Garp, where the worst case scenario plays out immediately and then it smooths out going forward and 2-3 years from now this is a factoid and not the pattern.
Big guy like Rodon who has had multiple injuries over his career and now has “chronic” back issues. That’s a very bad sign. I wouldn’t be surprised if he holds up about as well as James Paxton has.
I was thinking Carl Pavano.
You are an optimist. So far I see no evidence that what you say is true. But I will keep my fingers crossed because otherwise we are in deep deep trouble
I knew I’d see that name in the comments…good call CT…remember that one game Pavano pitched in NYY?
Boras’ song and dance act is hard to resist for the desperate and weak minded.
Counting down to the inevitable “setback on rehab”
This is going to be an interesting trade deadline. So many teams need starters but very few decent ones-let alone difference makers-available.
The Rodon, Montas, Severino three headed dog combo. Take the money but don’t want to play. Pathetic. In Montas’s case he waited till Spring Training to get his surgery and hes going to be out all season so he doesn’t risk ruining his stats. Its a joke. Heck you can even include Stanton and Hicks to those dogs. Stanton already took his early vacation, surprising as he normally waits till mid season. Its a shame what has happened to this Yankee organization. Guys like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig played almost every game. These dogs don’t even play half a season in most cases. The MLB needs to make a minumum amount or games played to receive your money, this is getting out of hand
Or, and I’m just shooting in the dark here
Clubs could be more fiscally responsible with who/how much/how long they commit that money too ??
Or get the most out of them when they’re playing. Aaron Hicks looks like a new man in Baltimore.
I cannot argue with you. I agree. but if players are hiding injuries, knowingly, to get their contracts, there should be some consequences to that to the player. In today’s game, the players hold all the cards. Obviously it would be difficult to prove, but sometimes it is clear. And still nothing was done about it
You might need to go outside more, maybe get a fresh perspective on life if you get this worked up over something like this.
Three dog night- no joy to the world
Cashman should have put Sevy in the pen rather than making him a starter in the first place. Sevy never had the frame and had only two good pitches in his repertoire. He would have likely been a great long term reliever otherwise.
Are you the Chicano Steve Stone?
I agree with you on that last point, something needs to be done, why should players who wore perpetually injured receive their entire salary year after year after year. Obviously some cannot play at all, but there is no incentive after a big contract, to play as there was in the old days.
His name sounds like Rendon. I have a bad feeling.
Merge them and get a mythical player named Rondon. Mythical in that he is never seen, only rumored t9 exist.
Carlos Rondon? He was alright. Mythical is a bit of a stretch. You can type his name using T9 or regular QWERTY keyboards.
He’s gotta lose that quim fur he’s sporting under his nose before he can even be taken seriously.
Hope he gets back to normal soon. If you haven’t seen him pitch in-person make time to see him. He really is incredible when he is healthy. Hope he is back in the majors soon
That is great news for the Yankees. Their pitching staff has been decimated by injuries.
I’ll believe it, when I see it. The Jenkee propaganda machine is never at rest, unlike the players. Who knows what the truth is.
Can he hit?
Yanks gotta hope he makes it through the assignment without hurting himself
Overpay
Wonder if the Yankees were able to get him insured. Hearing that Strasberg and DeGrom weren’t insured (and we see what occurred later), I’m wondering if teams will be more hesitant to roll the dice unless the player is at least partially insured (like David Wright was). I’d have to guess Rondon may be one of those candidates that is partially insured at best. He didn’t have much of a serious market except for the Yankees.
It is a good question. Most fans assume that every player is insured. Not so.Not only because it would be expensive for the ball club to ensure every single player on the roster, but insurance companies are not stupid. They don’t want the liability of insuring oft injured players, since the likelihood is that they will have to pay out again and again.
Why do the Yankees sign or trade for the wrong players? Stanton instead of Yelich or Harper the following year. Seager should of been a Yankee too.