TAMPA — This offseason, there has been a growing consensus that the Yankees’ most central player, the player whose successes and failures are most likely to change the Yankees in either direction, positively or negatively, is Carlos Rodon.
This would be like deciding based on his 2023 that keeping Mitchell Robinson healthy and productive is key to the Knicks’ near future.
Rodon shot down the idea that he would be a big part of where the Yankees go in 2024, and so did Brian Cashman.
And it’s true that the Yankees have plenty of talent, especially with Juan Soto reinvigorating the offense.
If that talent stays healthy overall and blossoms, the club will likely thrive, even if Rodon continues to get the best of Whitson.
But even with the big three of Soto, Aaron Judge, and Gerrit Cole, if Rodon looks anything like what he did in 2021-22, it’s easy to see the Yankees putting an 82-80 record in the rearview mirror. You’ll see.
And not in 2023, when injuries limited the left-handed pitcher to 14 starts, but his 6.85 ERA was the second-worst among many starts in franchise history (Lewis in 2023). – Severino’s 6.65 was the third-worst mark (Cashman called it a “disaster” of the season).
Admittedly, Rodon doesn’t offer a sugar-coated version of last year. He called it a “colossal failure.”
That puts him among an all-too-large group of Yankees, including Nestor Cortez, DJ LeMahieu, and Giancarlo Stanton, who want to prove that 2023 wasn’t who they were. become.
Of these, Rodon has the most potential upside. On top of that, the rotation has no proven depth beyond the top five, which is why Rodon is so important.
In the 2021-22 season, he was selected as an All-Star after finishing 6th and 5th in the Cy Young Award. Of the 114 starting pitchers who pitched at least 200 innings over the past two seasons, no one had a higher strikeout rate than Rodon’s 33.9 (Gerrit Cole was second at 32.9).
Only Zack Wheeler, Sandy Alcantara, and Max Scherzer had more wins above replacement (Baseball Reference). In 2022, he led the National League with an ERA of 2.25.
So the Yankees minimized the rest of his career, which was plagued by injuries, poor performance, and signs that he might not be a good fit for the New York market, and paid him a six-year sum of $162 million, the eighth-highest price at the time. Signed a million dollar contract. Something that has never been given to a free agent pitcher.
He then displayed dismal behavior on and off the field, including disrespecting pitching coach Matt Blake during his disastrous final start in 2023.
Mr Blake said there were no remaining issues. So far, anyway, that seems to be the case for pitcher Radon. No problem.
Perhaps this is why Rodon and Cashman wanted nothing to do with valuing Rodon as a key piece of the Yankees’ swing this season, but Blake cited Rodon and Nestor Cortez side by side. , which is probably why he suggested the health and performance of the two left-handers in the rotation would be essential to the Yankees’ season. club.
In 2022, both were named All-Stars and started a combined 59 games, posting a 2.68 ERA. If he can finish second to Cole again, the Yankees should win the American League East.
In 2023, both players were out for extended periods due to injuries, starting a combined 26 games and posting a 5.92 ERA. If they do the same thing again, the Yanks will be a strong candidate to miss the playoffs again.
So the Yankees are happy that both players showed up early to start training at their minor league facility and are feeling good so far.
Rodon arrived in Tampa the first week of January. He blamed his pitching for much of last season as “erratic,” losing the consistency of his fastball and slider that he relied on 89 percent of the time.
Rodon talked extensively about developing his curveball and changeup. But he knows he values getting his fastball up and his slider down. And he feels his main force will be more effective by being streamlined and more efficient on the mound.
He feels his early work has helped him in this area, and he’s already throwing significantly harder this camp than he did last season.
“There’s definitely motivation,” he said. “They’re not wrong [to question him]. The proof is in the pudding. It’s right there for all of us to see. You can look back on your season and see how many innings you pitched. That certainly shows he’s pretty good when he’s on the mound, but how often is he on the mound? He wants to change the person in charge, but it’s just a step. It’s one step at a time. ”
And he said, “It’s a mistake to worry about Step 4,000,” meaning he considers himself key to the Yankees this season. To that end, “You can’t ignore steps 1, 2, 3, and 4. You can’t go that far.”
Regardless, his path will have a lot to do with where the Yankees end up in 2024. Is he a legitimate No. 2 starter for what the Yankees paid for him? Or what was he about last year that is their biggest problem?
