ARLINGTON – After completing the last of his warmup tosses on Wednesday afternoon, Elmer Rodríguez stole a moment near the back of the Globe Life Field mound, honoring the journey as a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.
“This was something I’ve been dreaming of my whole life,” Rodríguez said after making his Major League debut in a 3-0 loss to the Rangers. “Just being out there, seeing the crowd, seeing the field – it’s something special for me and my family.”
The 22-year-old may not have showcased the pinpoint command that has prompted the Yankees to project a lengthy big league career, but the right-hander showed poise by battling nerves and navigating traffic.
Rated by MLB Pipeline as the Yankees’ No. 3 prospect and baseball’s No. 72 overall, Rodríguez held Texas scoreless into the fifth inning, when Josh Jung chased him with a two-run single.
“I went out there and competed,” Rodríguez said. “Obviously, not the results [I wanted]. I feel like I needed to execute a little bit better.”
Completing a 7-2 road trip, the Yankees were unable to muster support. Nathan Eovaldi blanked them on four hits over seven sharp innings, with Jacob Latz recording the final six outs for a save.
The Yanks fell to 3-3 this season with a sweep on the line, a topic captain Aaron Judge and veteran Paul Goldschmidt brought up during their first series of the year in San Francisco.
“You always feel like you want to finish everything off and make it really great into an off-day. Eovaldi beat us today,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I feel like we’re in a good place. We’re playing well.”
Known as a strike-thrower who mixes six pitches, Rodríguez wasn’t nearly as sharp as he’d been at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. At that level, he pitched to a 1.27 ERA over 21 1/3 innings, striking out 20 against just seven walks.
He walked four on Wednesday, including two in the first inning, while scattering four hits.
“His stuff was good; the strike-throwing wasn’t as sharp as it’s going to be with him, or typically is,” Boone said. “There was a lot of good out there. You saw his stuff play. A little better on the strike-throwing part and it’s a different line, but he still kept us in the game.”
Rodríguez registered his first of three strikeouts in unconventional fashion: a first-inning double play, with Jung going down looking and Brandon Nimmo caught stealing.
“I was kind of confused at the moment – I didn’t know what was going on,” Rodríguez said. “Thankfully, I got the strikeout and I got the double play.”
Rodríguez is the third Yankees starting pitcher in the last 19 seasons (since 2008) to make his Major League debut at age 22 or younger, joining Deivi García (2020) and Luis Severino (2015).
He learned of his pending callup late Monday, prompting a rush of travel for several family members in Puerto Rico, including his parents, brother and a cousin. Rodríguez became the fourth Puerto Rican pitcher to start a game for the Yankees, joining Ed Figueroa, Javier Vazquez and Ricky Bones.
“I’ve been excited about him since we traded for him,” Judge said. “He’s going to be a big piece for us going forward, if it’s a starter, bullpen, whatever. The guy’s got five, six different pitches he can use. He commands the zone well.”
Boone has indicated Rodríguez could remain in the rotation at least until Carlos Rodón is ready to be activated from his Minor League rehab assignment.
Rodón is scheduled to pitch Thursday for Double-A Somerset, then will make at least one more start in the Minors. Rodríguez’s next turn would line up against these same Rangers on Tuesday in the Bronx.
“I’ll take the good out of it, flush this one and move on to the next one,” Rodríguez said.
Dating back to Spring Training, Boone has consistently stated that he believes Rodríguez will have a long career as a big league starting pitcher, saying earlier on Wednesday that he has “a big arsenal and the stuff to match it.”
Nothing about Rodríguez’s outing shifted that viewpoint.
“Your first one is different,” Boone said. “It wasn’t like he was all over the place, either. At the end of the day, he threw up four zeros and got himself into a little bit of trouble there in the fifth. Overall, he gave us a chance.”