Yankees New $162 Million Pitcher Is Already Hurt, Will Miss The Start Of The Season
The New York Yankees have not a great few days with player injuries.
First, one of their main 2022 trade deadline acquisitions revealed he was hurt before his trade was completed.
Now, in perhaps an even more significant blow, their prized free agent acquisition is going to miss at least the start of the season.
Carlos Rodon signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Yankees after an extremely impressive season with the San Francisco Giants.
Rodon went 14-8, with a 2.88 ERA and 237 strikeouts in just 178 innings. His underlying metrics were even better, with a FIP of just 2.25, implying he was the victim of some bad luck with the Giants.
Despite his past injury history, this marked a second straight dominant season for Rodon, and the Yankees rewarded that success with the massive $162 million deal.
Except on Thursday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman revealed that Rodon has a forearm strain, meaning he's shut down from throwing and will miss opening day.
And given the nature of forearm strains, it could be much longer than that.
TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 20: Carlos Rodón #55 of the New York Yankees throws during Spring Training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 20, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images)
Yankees Rotation Takes a Blow
Forearm strains are notorious for leading into Tommy John surgery.
Rodon himself has already had the procedure just a few years ago in 2019.
For now, the Yankees remain optimistic that he could return sometime in April. And Cashman believes he's worth whatever the wait may be.
“He’s worth the wait,” Cashman said. “All we want – obviously he’s the real deal when he’s capable of providing it and not forcing something. Because we know how good he is when he’s right.”
The Yankees rotation has been expected to be a team strength, with Rodon joining Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino.
But if Rodon is out for an extended period of time, that would be a significant blow in an extremely competitive division.
Hopefully he is able to return as expected in just a few weeks, but if not, the Yankees $162 million investment could be off to a very, very poor start.