Rodon has breakthrough in rehab bullpen session
TAMPA — Carlos Rodon hit the latest benchmark in his comeback on Monday when he threw a 30-pitch bullpen session that reintroduced breaking balls.
The Yankees left-hander, who will begin the season on the injured list with a mild forearm muscle strain, threw five sliders and five curveballs as he upped the intensity from his initial 15pitch (strictly fastball) bullpen session last Thursday.
“Today was a big day for me,” Rodon said. “This week, I cir- cled it on the calendar. I knew it was going to be my second pen and I wanted to go with a little more intensity and throw like I’d throw a real bullpen instead of throwing 15 fastballs. So that’s kind of my mindset. Whatever the next thing is, whether it’s live [batting practice] or a bullpen, for me it’s like game day. That’s how I’ve been attacking this.”
Rodon was unsure what that next step would be — either building up his volume in another bullpen or facing hitters in a controlled environment. But mixing in sliders was an important step since that is the pitch that caused the discomfort in the lead-up to his only Grapefruit League start on March 5.
Still, as he stayed back in Tampa to continue his rehab while the team flew north on Monday, Rodon knew he had more hurdles ahead before he was in the clear.
“I think to really tell, I’m going to have to throw to hitters and see at that super-high intensity — see how it reacts from there,” he said.
The Yankees were still sorting out the final three spots on their 26-man roster Monday, with no decisions reached by the time they broke camp.
The three openings were expected to be for a fifth starter (Jhony Brito being the likely choice), an extra outfielder (between Estevan Florial, Rafael Ortega and Willie Calhoun) and the last bullpen spot (between
Greg Weissert, Ian Hamilton or an outside acquisition).
All six of those roster candidates were set to fly with the team to Washington for Tuesday’s exhibition.
Hamilton, who did not let up a run in 8 ¹/₃ innings this spring, has an optout in his contract, which triggers on Tuesday if the Yankees do not add him to the roster by then.
“We don’t plan on having him go anywhere,” general manager Brian Cashman said.
Asked if the Yankees could add someone to their roster from outside the organization before Opening Day, Cashman said it was “possible.”
“Our dialogue is ongoing,” he said. “It’s always hard to pull off anything, but you have to go through the motions and see if it’s possible.”
Domingo German will stay back in Tampa to pitch Wednesday in a minor league game. That puts him in line to start the fifth game of the regular season.