TAMPA, Fla. – Chances are, you buttoned your shirt today. Maybe not, depending on your wardrobe, but you know someone who did.
At least one Yankees pitcher couldn’t last year.
Carlos Rodón’s ailing elbow was such an issue that he needed help getting dressed in the morning and after games, though it didn’t keep the left-hander from taking the ball for a career-high 33 starts.
“It was fun, let’s just put it that way,” Rodón said with a laugh. “It was fun every day to challenge myself to go pitch. I couldn’t really bend my arm. I couldn’t button a shirt. Just normal things were interesting.
“Did it hurt sometimes? Sure. But I’d rather go out there and compete.”
Rodón, 33, underwent surgery in October to shave a bone spur and remove loose bodies. He said the elbow bothered him throughout a season in which he went 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA, notching career bests in wins and innings pitched (195 1/3).
“I was pitching well, so I couldn’t just say, ‘Oh, I can’t pitch,’” Rodón said. “It was manageable.”
It wasn’t until his velocity dipped late in the year that Rodón accepted the elbow needed a cleanup. Rodón’s average four-seamer dropped to 94.1 mph, compared to 95.4 mph in 2024.
“The reason I did it was the velocity was taking a step back,” Rodón said. “I was just not who I am normally. I was serviceable, but I wasn’t the normal version of me. It was definitely a chronic thing over time, probably three or four years.
“ … It was just part of my routine. It’s just what I had. I adapted to what the arm gave me.”
The Yankees were aware of Rodón’s elbow throughout the season, manager Aaron Boone said.
Rodón’s final start came in Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Blue Jays, when he took a no-decision in the Bombers’ 9-6 comeback win.
“We knew he was really struggling with range of motion,” Boone said. “It obviously wasn’t affecting his performance a lot. He didn’t have a ton of velocity by Carlos’ standards, but in a lot of ways, I think that’s something that can happen to pitchers over time. They can still be really effective.
“So hopefully this is something that, as he continues to build, just frees him up a little bit more.”
Rodón threw 20 fastballs, sliders and changeups from a George M. Steinbrenner Field mound on Saturday, his fifth bullpen session as he works toward a big league return that could come in late April.
“That would be awesome. I would love that,” Rodón said. “I hope I can make that. There’s a lot of ups and downs in any rehab process. This was more of a minor thing, which was great, because the progression is a lot quicker.”
Boone has suggested that Rodón and Gerrit Cole might both pitch in Grapefruit League games before camp ends, though each will need more time to build stamina when the regular season begins.
Rodón plans to make good use of those weeks. He said that he reported to camp weighing 265 pounds – the product of “a happy offseason,” he joked – and would like to trim about five to 10 pounds before his season debut. Rodón said he pitched most of last season around 257.
“We’ll get there,” Rodón said. “It’s every year. I start in Spring Training.”
