Carlos Rodon has a tough start against the Yankees and “some stuff to prove.”
TAMPA — In his second season as a Yankee, Carlos Rodon is aware that he needs to improve.
As spring training approaches, the left-hander also appears to be in good shape. It’s a nice place to start, even though it doesn’t promise anything in terms of pitching better or keeping healthy.
Rodon refrained from using the cliché of being in the best form of his life, which is as common at spring training as pitchers practicing their fielding, nor did he specify the exact amount of weight he lost.
However, he appeared to be in better shape than when he hit the mound in the previous season and seemed prepared to move past his difficult first season with the Yankees.
Two days before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, Rodon stated Monday morning, “I just feel like I got some stuff to prove and I want to stay on the field a lot longer than I did last year,” before leading a bullpen session at the Yankees player development complex.
According to Rodon, he reported to Tampa on January 6 or 7, and his throwing development has advanced significantly already.
After an injury-plagued 2023, he is expected to throw a fourth live bullpen session on Wednesday, giving himself a good start on his 2024 training.
This was Rodon’s first full offseason with the Yankees following his signing of a six-year, $162 million contract in December 2022. He described it as “a lot different.”
He remarked, “They invest a lot of time and contact with you when they invest a lot of money in you.” Thus, it was satisfactory. Our plan was sound. began tossing really early. began working out in the weight room quite early. far early than usual. I’ve been throwing a lot in an effort to be prepared.
Although he claimed to be unsure of his exact weight loss throughout the offseason, Rodon indicated it was more about changing his body’s composition.
He laughed that he got there by chasing his three children about, and he went on to joke that the reason he appeared smaller was because he got rid of his mustache, which “had some bad juju in it.”
Regardless, following Rodon’s terrible first season in pinstripes, it was obvious that something had to happen.
It was tainted by setbacks and poor play during his active years. He strained his forearm muscle in March of last year, and while recovering from that, he experienced back problems.
He finally made his debut in July, and around another injured list stint in August for a strained hamstring, he pitched to a 6.85 ERA across 14 starts and 64 ⅓ innings.
In addition to giving up eight runs without recording an out in the season finale against the Royals in Kansas City, Rodon also abandoned pitching coach Matt Blake during a mound visit.
In response to questions regarding external criticism, Rodon stated, “I know I’ve got to be better.” “Listen, I’ll tell you straight. We are all human. Everything is heard by us. It depends on the individual if that bothers you or if you genuinely listen to it and act upon it. But you’re eventually going to crack an egg when you hear it a thousand times. It’s difficult, but it’s our responsibility as New York Yankees to maintain our tough exterior. I know I’m being open and truthful. Good thing it was the end of the year and I got to move on and forget about baseball and come back refreshed and let’s start at it again.”
If Rodon can rediscover the healthy, dominant formula that led to him posting a 2.67 ERA with 422 strikeouts across 310 ⅔ innings between 2021 and 2022, it will go a long way in elevating the Yankees’ rotation behind Gerrit Cole.
They were unable to land Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto this offseason and did not want to pay the steep free-agent price for someone like Blake Snell, only upping the pressure on Rodon to pitch like he is capable of this season.
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