LAKELAND, Fla. — Compared to his fellow starters and also his last two springs, Carlos Rodón’s camp has been fairly boring.
Given some of the turbulence around him and in his own tenure as a Yankee, that is not necessarily a bad thing.
But after Rodón made his last start of the spring in the Yankees’ 4-0 win over the Tigers on Friday night, it’s about to get interesting, with the left-hander set to get the ball next on Opening Day against the Brewers at Yankee Stadium next Thursday.
“I’m here,” Rodón said Friday night after throwing 4 ²/₃ shutout innings on 77 pitches in his final tuneup at Joker Marchant Stadium. “It’s interesting, I feel like I’ve been under the radar, which is kind of nice. … I feel pretty normal, just going about my business and trying to get my work done.”
The lights will be much brighter in The Bronx than they have been this spring for Rodón. And if it feels like he has been doing his work in the shadows, that’s because he mostly has: Friday marked only his third Grapefruit League start of camp — and first since Feb. 27 — having pitched his last three outings via live batting practice on backfields with the team on the road.
But he said three games was enough for him after striking out five and walking three in a 4-0 win over the Tigers.
“Turn the lights on and I’ll go play,” Rodón said.
Around Rodón this spring, the Yankees have lost Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery) for the season, Luis Gil (lat strain) for at least three months and Clarke Schmidt (shoulder fatigue) likely for a few turns through the rotation as he finishes off his buildup.
The new-look rotation includes the new big-money lefty, Max Fried, whose $218 million contract now trumps Rodón’s $162 million deal from two years ago; Marcus Stroman, who entered camp as the projected odd man out and now stands as the No. 3 starter; Carlos Carrasco, the veteran righty who had a surprisingly strong camp while dipping into the fountain of youth; and Will Warren, the pitching prospect who is trying to rebound from a rough debut in the big leagues last season.
Then there is Rodón, who was the big story two springs ago, only to get injured midway through camp with a forearm strain that, along with a bad back, sidelined him until July.
That gave way to a disastrous first season in pinstripes in which he posted a 6.85 ERA in 16 starts, which created questions last spring about how he could possibly recover from such a brutal introduction to the Yankees.
And now, coming off a very solid season in which he settled in and made all 32 starts, Rodón has just had a normal camp without much hullabaloo.
“That’s fair. That’s a good point,” manager Aaron Boone said on Friday afternoon. “I remember last year, his first spring outing, everything’s going to be made of it. He just did a great job of, starting in the previous offseason on through spring training, just chopping wood, chopping wood. Do what I got to do to be ready to go to the post, develop a routine, which he has and is very good.
“He’s continued that and obviously we’re counting on him heavily.”
Rodón has spent the spring working on expanding his arsenal to be less four-seam fastball-dominant, turning his changeup into more of a weapon (it accounted for three of his strikeouts Friday) and even sprinkling in a few two-seam fastballs.
Though he has done most of it quietly, it should not be confused for being unimportant.
Especially with Cole lost for the season, the Yankees need Rodón to pitch like the big arm they are paying him to be.
“I think arguably he’s the most important right now,” catcher Austin Wells said. “Last year, he was able to complete every start, didn’t miss a start. If he’s able to repeat that for us and give us length and go out there and make quality starts, that’s going to be huge for us.”
