Rodón feeling good, but there's no rush -- Yanks have it covered

TAMPA, Fla. -- A few hours before a sold-out crowd watched Max Fried’s latest Opening Day tuneup in New York's 6-4 loss to the Phillies on Saturday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field, many of those same fans piled into the bleachers on the other side of the Yankees’ complex to catch a glimpse of last year’s Opening Day starter.

Carlos Rodón faced live hitters for the second time in less than a week, throwing two simulated innings against teammates Randal Grichuk, Ali Sánchez and Duke Ellis. The left-hander threw 30 pitches on the heels of his 20-pitch session on Monday -- the first time he had faced live hitters since his October left elbow surgery.

“I feel like I had more, like I could have gone more, but obviously can’t do that yet,” Rodón said after his most recent session. “So I’m happy about that, physically. … I just need more reps.”

Taking the mound just five days after his first live session, Rodón is essentially into his normal buildup at this point.

"Excited where he's at. … He's really, probably, not that far behind,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He's responded well to everything; we haven't rushed anything with him. ... He's trending in a good way."

Still, the Yankees aren't in any hurry to rush him along. They're also not going to force the issue with fellow rehabbing starters Gerrit Cole (right elbow ligament tear) and Clarke Schmidt (Tommy John surgery).

After all, they don’t believe there’s an urgent need to do so.

"I feel like when you bring Carlos in and Gerrit into the mix with what’s pushing through," Boone said, "you’re talking about 10-12 guys that I would feel very comfortable starting a Major League game and giving us a chance to win."

That group obviously includes the five starters expected to begin the season in the rotation: Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers. That would send Paul Blackburn (1.46 ERA in 12 1/3 innings this spring) and Ryan Yarbrough (3-1 with a 3.83 ERA in eight starts last season) to the bullpen.

"I think the guys that are going to start out in the rotation, you feel really good about," Boone said. "But then I also like Yarbrough. And I think Blackburn is throwing the ball really well."

That's not all.

There's also the trio of prospects -- Carlos Lagrange, Elmer Rodríguez and Ben Hess -- who are knocking on the door.

Lagrange, the club's No. 2 prospect, has revved his fastball up as high as 103.1 mph while posting a 0.93 ERA in 9 2/3 innings. Rodríguez (No. 3) wasted no time making a strong impression on Boone. Hess (No. 5) has impressed with not one but two plus breaking balls (a sweeper and a curveball).

"There's also those three guys we’ve talked about a lot from the Minor Leagues that are pushing -- Carlos and Elmer and Ben," Boone said. "You feel good about them."

Put it all together -- the five projected starters in the Opening Day rotation, the two guys headed to the ‘pen, the three starters beginning the season on the IL and the three top-5 prospects -- and that alone is 13 pitchers Boone casually rattled off.

"Hopefully you don’t need all the depth, of course," Boone said. "But it shows that that depth is real.”

The reality is the Yankees -- and most teams, for that matter -- likely will need most, if not all, of that depth.

Considering New York plans to eventually plug in Rodón, Cole and Schmidt once each is healthy, the club will use, at the very least, eight starters in 2026. It will mark the 32nd season in a row that the Yankees will have used at least eight starters. The last time they used fewer than eight was 1994 ... when they used seven.

Given that aforementioned depth, the Yankees believe they're positioned far better to handle that than in recent seasons -- well, on paper, anyway.

"That’s comforting -- but that’s all it is," Boone said. "We’ve still got to go bring that to fruition.”

As for any notion that making a World Series run requires a rotation to stay healthy throughout the season, consider this: Only one World Series champion from the past decade -- the 2022 Astros -- used fewer than 10 starting pitchers on its way to winning a ring.

So while it'd certainly be ideal, the key isn't having a healthy rotation for the entire season. Instead, it's more about having the right guys healthy at the right time.

Until then, the Yankees believe they’re in good hands.

“Weathers is an electric left-handed arm with great stuff, and obviously, Will and Cam and Luis are guys who have been around and great arms as well,” Rodón said. “And obviously, Max is the anchor and he’s elite -- so we’re in a good place.”