Carlos Rodon has yet to throw a pitch for the New York Yankees in 2023 due to injury, but the $162 million man is inching closer to making his New York debut. Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke to the media before the opening game of the team's three-game series against the Seattle Mariners, saying that Rodon will pitch off of a bullpen mound before the contest, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
Boone called Rodon's upcoming toss off of the bullpen mound a “touch and feel” session, according to Hoch.
Rodon spoke to reporters after the session, saying it “went well.” The Yankees lefty threw at high intensity, telling the media that the next step is another bullpen session.
Rodon inked a six-year, $162 million contract with the Yankees this past December, with the expectation that he would be another frontline starter atop the rotation alongside Gerrit Cole.
A forearm strain in March put a serious dent in those plans, though, pushing Rodon's expected Yankees debut back to late April or early May.
A late May return turned into a June return when Rodon's stiff back started to flare up.
Now, Rodon will essentially have to undergo a quasi-spring training build up over the next month or so.
The Yankees' makeshift rotation has made do to the tune of a 3.76 ERA, thanks in large part to a Cy Young-like campaign from Cole.
However, there's no doubt that Rodon, who pitched to a 2.88 ERA with a 33.4 percent strikeout rate across a career-best 178 innings last year for the San Francisco Giants, would provide a massive boost to the Yankees' staff.
Rodon isn't quite there yet, but he's making his way closer to a return by the day.
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