Carlos Rodon has yet to throw a regular season inning for the New York Yankees after signing a six-year contract over the off-season. During Spring Training, he suffered an injury and has been unable to return yet. Part of the way through his rehab process, his back began to act up in addition to his arm.
Though the latest news does reveal no damage to his back and prevents another injury from delaying his return, his return has been delayed nonetheless. The latest update suggests he may be out until the middle of June now.
This is not an official report from the Yankees, but it is a speculative timeline that probably holds up. Rodon will be out for more time now.
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Rodon was expected to miss time at the beginning of the season, but the earliest reports didn’t suggest an absence this long. There’s no denying that Rodon is a talented pitcher, but Yankees fans are growing tired of the familiar injury refrain.
Rodon’s latest setback has convinced Yankees fans of the worst. Many don’t even believe that the ace will return by then. Some fans are so pessimistic that they believe they won’t even see Rodon until 2024 at the earliest.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that the back issue didn’t cost Rodon all that much time in his throwing program, and he can now resume it. It may be a little while longer, but Carlos Rodon is at least on the path to recovery.
Carlos Rodon wasn’t a bad signing
The temptation now is for New York Yankees fans and baseball media to suggest that the signing of Carlos Rodon was a bad signing. After all, he is injury-prone and is now at risk of missing a large chunk of his first season.
However, this is not the case. The Yankees had to sign Aaron Judge, so they were never going to be in on Jacob deGrom or Justin Verlander. That left Rodon as the next best pitcher in all of baseball’s eyes. They signed him.
They needed to shore up the pitching and they did. Rodon was a good signing. It’s impossible to predict injuries and he was healthy all of last year. These setbacks don’t negate that.