The Yankees are getting Carlos Rodon back on the mound, at least for a step in the right direction.
New York will send the left-hander out on a minor league rehab assignment Saturday, with Rodon lined up to throw about 50 pitches for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He has been out since June 28, when he last pitched in the majors before landing on the injured list with left elbow inflammation.
Manager Aaron Boone said before Friday’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves that an early return in a piggyback setup is on the table.
"I think he's close to 50, not quite 50 pitches tomorrow, and I think we'll definitely, probably piggyback him at some point," Boone told reporters before the Yankees' series opener Friday against the Atlanta Braves. "It's just, do we have him do one more and then do the piggyback at whatever pitch count he's at? That's the most likely right now."
The Yankees have already taken that route once recently with Max Fried. After a July 21 rainout created a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 22, New York brought Fried back sooner than expected and used him in the second game on a limited pitch count after he’d been dealing with a bruised left elbow.
Rodon’s road back has included more than just this latest elbow issue. He had surgery last October to remove loose bodies from his pitching elbow, and while on the injured list he also received platelet-rich plasma injections. His season didn’t even get moving until May 10 because of a right hamstring problem in spring training.
Before the injury, the 33-year-old had gone 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA across nine starts. Over 12 big league seasons with the Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants and Yankees, the three-time All-Star has piled up a 97-74 record, a 3.72 ERA, 1,461 strikeouts and 503 walks.
New York stood pat on pitching at the trade deadline, passing on upgrades for both the rotation and bullpen. Even so, the rotation has held strong, with Gerrit Cole, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Ryan Weathers and Fried combining to give the club the third-best ERA in MLB at 3.48.
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