MLB: Spring Training-New York Yankees at Atlanta Braves
(New York, NY) — At last, encouraging injury news for Yankee fans. Carlos Rodón (elbow) faced hitters on Sunday in a two-inning simulated game.
He appears to finally be making progress after dealing with back tightness that delayed his return a few days. The 30-year-old left-hander is hoping to return sometime in May, but there isn’t a definitive timetable from the Yankees yet. They certainly won’t take any chances by rushing him back.
“He’s going to have to be built up quite a bit,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone stated about his southpaw, who only had one spring training start before suffering the injury. “ He’s ready to take off.”
“Overall, it feels like he’s in a strong spot now and whatever he had going in his forearm is resolving, which is good to see,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said.
After losing Giancarlo Stanton for 4-6 weeks, the Yankees are in dire need of any help they can get. Josh Donaldson (hamstring) and Josh Bader (oblique) are also expected to return sometime this week.
Rodon went 14-8 last season with a 2.88 ERA, good enough for an All-Star game spot. The former White Sox and Giants pitcher signed a six-year, $162 million deal to be the No. 2 starter in their rotation behind ace Gerrit Cole.
