USA TODAY International Edition
Yanks’ Rodon starts season on injured list
One of the New York Yankees' key offseason acquisitions will have to wait a little longer than expected to make his debut in pinstripes.
Left- handed pitcher Carlos Rodon will be shut down for 7- 10 days with a forearm strain and will begin the regular season on the injured list.
Rodon, 30, signed a six- year, $ 162 million contract with the Yankees over the winter with the expectation that he would serve as the team's No. 2 starter behind ace Gerrit Cole.
Instead, Rodon could be out for the first month of the regular season as he recovers from the time he'll miss in spring training.
Rodon was knocked around in his first spring training start on Sunday, giving up five runs and six hits in two- plus innings.
In that game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone asked the lefty to dial back the velocity of his fastball after the first inning.
“I don't want him to feel like he's got to impress us on March 5 and overdo it and get in a bad spot mechanically or start to do something,” Boone said afterward, according to the New York Post.
Revised rotation
Cole is still in line to start the season opener on March 30 at home against the San Francisco Giants.
However, injuries have now affected two of the Yankees' top five projected starters with Rodon and Frankie Montas sidelined by injuries.
Montas had arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder last month and is expected to be out until the All- Star break.
As it stands now, the Yankees rotation should line up this way
( 2022 stats in parentheses):
1. RHP Gerrit Cole ( 13- 8, 3.50 ERA) 2. RHP Luis Severino ( 7- 3, 3.18 ERA) 3. RHP Domingo German ( 2- 5, 3.61 ERA) 4. RHP Clarke Schmidt ( 5- 5, 3.12 ERA) 5. LHP Nestor Cortes ( 12- 4, 2.44 ERA)
Left- hander Nestor Cortes has been dealing with a hamstring strain this offseason but is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.