The Yankees announced today that Carlos Rodón will make his return from the injured list tomorrow night. Out since June 28th with left elbow inflammation, the left-hander will start in the first game of this week’s three-game set with the Orioles.
Rodón made two rehab starts in the lead-up to his return, looking particularly sharp in his most recent outing, striking out seven and allowing two hits in 4.1 shutout innings for Somerset on August 13th. He was limited to 58 pitches in that start, so expect him to be on a fairly restrictive pitch count tomorrow night.
The Yankees desperately need offensive reinforcements, but they’ll take anything they can get right now. Rodón’s return should further deepen what’s been the best pitching staff in the league, though how the roster shakes out remains to be seen. The most obvious candidate to be bumped out of the rotation is Will Warren, who has been outpitched over the course of the summer by his mid-rotation mate Ryan Weathers. Warren would’ve been on full rest for tomorrow night, so perhaps he could be involved in a piggyback sort of setup as the Yankees try to slowly increase Rodón’s pitch count.
Rodón had a 3.30 ERA in nine starts and 46 innings before hitting the shelf in June. His season had already been abbreviated by offseason elbow surgery, his season debut not coming until May 10th in Milwaukee. Though injuries have ensured this hasn’t been the kind of campaign Rodón envisioned, he’s been effective when healthy and would give the Yankees a downright super rotation if he can pitch as he did earlier year.