After A Season Full Of Injuries, GM Brian Cashman Has Faith In Carlos Rodon’s 2024 Comeback

The Yankees will be depending on the two lefties in their rotation to have strong seasons regardless of whether they spend a lot of money this winter on Yoshinobu Yamamoto or pass on the most recent Japanese sensation to arrive in the United States.

After A Season Full Of Injuries, GM Brian Cashman Has Faith In Carlos Rodon’s 2024 Comeback

This year, Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes were major letdowns. Together, they had a 5.92 ERA, 127.2 innings pitched, 26 starts, four disabled list stays, and an 8-10 record.

After finishing his 3-8, 6.85 ERA season with an awful last start in Kansas City that saw eight runs scored in zero innings, Rodon entered the summer in a mental state of disarray, but he’s already in a better place mentally. After missing the first half of the season due to a forearm strain and back problems, and then another 15 days in August due to a minor hamstring strain.

The left-hander let up eight runs against the Royals without recording an out in September, which was a devastating way to close the season for a player who had appeared to be finding his feet.

The Yankees feel Rodon is healthy, despite the fact that his velocity was notably down in that season finale, according to general manager Brian Cashman on Tuesday.

Rodon’s offseason has been closely monitored by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, with whom he spoke again on Tuesday. Later in the day, on the opening day of the GM Meetings, Cashman gave an upbeat report.

“I know he’s frustrated about the year,” Cashman said at the general managers’ meetings. “Obviously him getting out of the gate the way he did with the injury, at least our belief system on this issue — we’ve unpacked a lot — is that he ultimately never got online the way he and we would have hoped.

“This winter, leaving us healthy, being in a better position now, understanding what he’s walking through in New York — not that that caused any of these issues — but I’m looking forward to him and others coming back being closer to what we expected than what we got.”

The Yankees will be paying Rodon $27 million a year for the next five years, so they need him to do much better moving ahead.

 

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