Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón made his second Minor League rehab start on Thursday as he nears his return to New York’s starting rotation after undergoing elbow surgery last October.
Following a strong outing for High-A Hudson Valley in which he threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings on April 24, Rodón took the mound for Double-A Somerset against Portland at TD Bank Ballpark on Thursday evening. He was solid once again, yielding one run on five hits and striking out eight over 5 1/3 innings. He threw 75 pitches, 51 of which were strikes.
Rodón’s second rehab appearance came on the heels of a third rehab outing for Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who is nearing a return from Tommy John surgery. Cole gave up three runs on three hits and struck out three over 5 2/3 frames for Somerset on Wednesday.
Despite being without Cole and Rodón, the Yankees have gotten strong performances out of their starting pitchers early on this season. The Yanks’ starting staff leads the Majors with a 2.74 ERA, thanks largely to dominant outings so far from Cam Schlittler (1.51 ERA) and Max Fried (2.09 ERA).
With Rodón possibly needing only one more rehab start based on earlier comments from Yankees manager Aaron Boone, the 33-year-old southpaw could return to the big league rotation sometime around mid-May. And Cole’s expected return is sometime in May or June.
Rodón produced his best season in Yankees pinstripes last year after he inked a six-year, $162 million contract to join New York prior to the 2023 campaign. In 33 starts last season, he posted a 3.09 ERA (133 ERA+) and earned his third career All-Star selection.
Despite his strikeout rate hovering around 25% during his tenure with the Yankees after he struck out 34% of batters he faced with the White Sox and Giants from 2021-22, Rodón has retained his status as one of the game’s premier left-handed starters.