New York Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón reached a key milestone in his recovery from elbow surgery this week, facing hitters for the first time since the procedure as he works his way back toward the mound.
Rodón “tossed an inning of live batting practice at Steinbrenner Field, his first time facing hitters since elbow surgery,” reported MLB Yankees reported Bryan Hoch on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. The session marks an important step in the pitcher’s gradual rehabilitation after undergoing surgery in October to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur in his elbow.
Rodón has spent recent weeks building up through bullpen sessions while testing the mobility and flexibility in his arm. The careful progression has allowed him to relearn how his elbow moves after the procedure.
“It’s different. Things have changed since last year or since the last few months,” Rodón said, as reported by New York Post Sports reporter Mark W. Sanchez. “I’m still trying to figure out how everything moves again and just find the (pitch) shapes.
“… There’s a lot more movement now. With the arm, there’s a lot more space it covers.”
The surgery addressed an issue that limited Rodón’s range of motion late last season. By the end of the year, he said he could not fully bend his arm and sometimes had to lean forward to drink from a cup because he lacked the flexibility to bring his hand to his mouth.
Despite the restriction, Rodón still completed the season and posted a 3.09 ERA across 33 starts.
Now throwing roughly “an easy 90-91” mph in bullpen sessions, Rodón has begun mixing in his full pitch repertoire while remaining cautious about pushing his arm too quickly.
“It changes when a hitter gets out there. You get an extra bump,” Rodón said. “I kind of need that. I need to do that so I can figure out where I need to be and how much more I need to be ready.”
Rodón said his goal remains returning to the Yankees’ rotation in late April or early May.
