Was it just a dream? Following a disastrous, injury-ridden first season with the New York Yankees in 2023, Carlos Rodon looked much more like the two-time All-Star that ownership agreed to give $162 million in 2022 during the first two and a half months of this campaign. All of the goodwill he built is now gone.
Rodon continued a frightening descent as he once again got off to a slow start on the mound. He surrendered four runs in the Yankees' 5-3 road loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, all of which came in the first inning. Randy Arozarena drove in Yandy Diaz with a double down the left field line and Isaac Paredes belted a three-run home run shortly after to give his team a 4-1 lead, one that proved to be enough to withstand a seventh-inning New York flurry.
Command remains a big issue for Rodon in his Yankees tenure, with no real improvement seemingly in sight. He turned things around before, but there is little cause for optimism right now. The 31-year-old starting pitcher obviously knows how ugly it has been across his last five starts.
“Just not really giving my team a chance to win, giving up runs early,” he told reporters postgame, per YES Network. “Just have to put up a zero in the first. Just try to stretch something together.”
The lefty also mentioned that he is relying a bit too much on his fastball to set the tone early in games instead of mixing up his pitching arsenal from the onset. While it is good to be self-aware, Rodon is clearly not making the necessary adjustments. He continues to struggle and then display negative body language, a troubling trend that must be corrected pronto.
The Yankees (55-38) are falling short as a whole, but Carlos Rodon is one of the players most synonymous with their free fall. A cure is desperately needed for both athlete and club.
Yankees cannot stop the bleeding
What was once the consensus best team in the American League is currently one of the worst. New York has lost 17 of its last 23 games, failing to even take advantage of a home series against the Cincinnati Reds last week. The Yanks are getting thumped by sub-.500 squads and surging rivals like the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox.
A three-game divisional deficit feels insurmountable the way they are playing this summer. The lineup again appears too superstar-dependent and the pitching staff is erratic as ever. Some upgrades can be made of course, but this mess might not be cleaned up so easily. It has taken a collective effort to reach this nadir and will probably require a collective effort to return to the MLB's zenith.
Though, one has to assume that if Carlos Rodon can rediscover his early season form (2.95 ERA in first 11 starts), then fortunes might begin to change. His woes are emblematic of the Yankees' massive skid, so perhaps he can spike their momentum with a couple of stellar starts.
Rodon discussed the possibility of tweaking his routine in order to come out of the gate strong. No changes can be considered too drastic based on how things are going for him and the team. New York has not won a series in almost a month and will have to beat the Rays on Wednesday night if it hopes to change that before the weekend.
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