Carlos Rodón made his New York Yankees debut on Friday after three long months, but the wait will continue for his first victory.
The Yankees’ first free agent acquisition last offseason pitched 5 1/3 innings with four hits, two runs (both earned), two walks and two strikeouts on 69 pitches, taking the loss against the Chicago Cubs. He received a hearty ovation as he was struck out in the sixth inning:
Rodón left plenty of room for hope that he will improve as he takes more turns in the rotation, and it’s also not like he was responsible for shutting the Yankees out in a 3-0 loss. His slider has been his signature for years, throwing it 31.1% of the time last season, but he only used it 12 times (17.4%) against the Cubs, according to Baseball Savant.
The costliest pitch was an insider fastball in the third inning, which Cody Bellinger threw into the second deck:
The Yankees signed Rodón to a six-year, $162 million deal in free agency last winter after a stellar season in which the southpaw posted a 2.88 ERA, the NL’s best FIP of 2.25. , a 1,082 WHIP and 237 strikeouts in 178 innings for the Giants, earning him a second straight All-Star nod and a ninth-place finish in Cy Young’s vote.
The hit on Rodón, however, was a long history of injuries, and it didn’t take long for the Yankees to come up against that with the 30-year-old. He was first sidelined in spring training this season with a sprained forearm before the back problem surfaced in August. It was reported in May that his schedule would be pushed back indefinitely due to a “chronic” back problem.
He finally started a rehab mission on June 20 and made three starts before getting the all clear.
Rodón isn’t the only injury for the Yankees, who are still without Aaron Judge, Nestor Cortes, Jonathan Loáisiga and more, but his situation was emblematic of the team’s early season woes. The team’s record now stands at 48-41, eight games behind the Rays in the AL East and one game shy of last-place wildcard.