NEW YORK – At this time last year, Carlos Rodon – signed to a $162 million, six-year free agent contract – had yet to make his Yankees debut.
Due to a forearm strain and a back issue, the prized lefty didn’t arrive in the Yankees’ rotation until July 7, and the disappointment continued from there.
Rodon’s personally frustrating 2023 season ended with a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts, which demanded a swift turnaround – not an easy task when your first impression was a dud at Yankee Stadium.
Ten starts into his 2024 season, things have dramatically changed for Rodon.
“I sit down in the dugout now and I look around the field and it’s pretty comfortable sitting in this stadium,’’ said Rodon after a six-inning stint in Sunday’s 7-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.
“This doesn’t feel overwhelming anymore. This feels like home, which is nice. That makes a huge difference for sure.’’
Yankees' 2024 success model starts with starting pitching
That’s an acknowledgment by Rodon that he was shaken by the events of 2023, when Yankees Universe watched and wondered if their new lefty – signed to be ace Gerrit Cole’s co-pilot through October – was built for the Bronx.
By contributing to the Yankees’ seventh straight win before 41,041 fans Sunday, Rodon improved to 5-2 with a 3.27 ERA, at a time when the team’s rotation has posted a 7-0 record and 0.70 ERA.
“I love the way these guys are playing, and I love the way they’ve come together,’’ said manager Aaron Boone of his 33-15 club, owners of the AL’s best record.
“I love their focus and purpose for playing right now. We’ve got to maintain and keep putting our foot on the gas,’’ with the AL West leading Seattle Mariners arriving Monday for a four-game series.
“We know inevitably there’ll come a time when it’s tough and you’re facing adversity…and we’ll be prepared for that, too,’’ said Boone. “Right now, we just have to handle our business and keep the pedal down.’’
Carlos Rodon faces his old team, Chicago White Sox
After a bit of a rocky start, yielding a homer to Corey Julks and an RBI triple by Zach Remillard – eventually picked off third base on an alert play by Jose Trevino and Jon Berti – Rodon improved his command and mixed in more changeups, to go with his strong fastball-slider mix.
“I feel pretty good,’’ said Rodon, with a 3-0 mark and 2.45 ERA over his last three starts. “There’s room to improve, always looking to get better.
“But my goal is just to go out there and think about getting 18 outs (six innings)…and go from there,’’ said Rodon, who was battling a cold this week and emptied the tank in Sunday’s sixth inning.
Sunday also marked Rodon’s first outing against his original club, the White Sox, from 2015-2021.
“I definitely wanted to beat them, I’m sure they wanted to beat me as well,’’ said Rodon, still friendly with several of former teammates. “There’s some good players over there.’’
Trevino recognized that Rodon’s comeback began with a solid offseason plan of conditioning and a forward focus, as did Boone.
“Credit to him, he got after it and started right away,’’ Boone said of Rodon’s productive winter, which included monitoring by the club’s strength and conditioning coaches, as well as the pitching coaches.
Carlos Rodon's road back to being a frontline starter
Rodon made sure “he was doing everything he needed to do to put himself in a good position physically heading into spring training,’’ along with some delivery tinkering to get into a better downhill approach.
Still, “there was going to be so much noise around Carlos because of his contract, coming off a tough season,’’ said Boone.
“The first start in spring training was noisy, and you knew it was going to be,’’ as was his first start of the year and his first Yankee Stadium start of 2024.
If there was any message for Rodon entering this year, it was Boone’s reminder that he was a recent two-time All-Star, with the equipment to succeed again.
“Last year kind of snowballed (with the) injury setbacks. How do you respond? Some guys don’t. He has,’’ said Boone. “He’s put in the work to put himself in a position…to get the most out of (his) talent.’’
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Why Carlos Rodon is enjoying success with New York Yankees in 2024
