Lakeland, Fla. – Compared to his fellow starters and his last two springs, Carlos Rodon's camp was rather boring.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, given some of the turbulence around him and during his own tenure as a Yankee.
However, after Rodon made his final spring start with a 4-0 victory over the Yankees Tigers on Friday night, he will be able to get the ball on opening day against the brewers at Yankee Stadium next Thursday.
“I'm here,” Rodon said after threw a 4²/₃ shutout inning on 77 pitches on Friday night in his final tune-up at Joker Merchant Stadium. “It's funny, I feel like I'm under the radar. That's kind of nice. …I feel pretty normal. I'm just trying to get my business and get the job done.”
The Bronx lights will be much brighter than Rodon's spring. And if he feels like he's doing his job in the shadows, that's because he's mostly because he has: Friday only marked the start of his third Grapefruitreug camp — and since February 27 — pitched his last three outings in live batting practice in the backfield with teams on the road.
However, he said three games would be enough for him after walking three with a 4-0 victory over the Tigers to score a 5.
“I'll turn on the lights and go play,” Rodon said.
Around Rodon this spring, the Yankees lost Gerit Cole (Tommy John's surgery) during the season, and for at least three months Lewis Gill (rat simile), Clark Schmidt (shoulder fatigue) spins several times when he finishes building up.
The new look rotation includes the new big-money left-hander Max Fried, whose $228 million deal beats Rodon's $162 million deal two years ago. Marcus Stroman, who entered the camp as the expected strange man, is now standing as his third starter. Carlos Carrasco, the right hand of a veteran who was incredibly strong camp while soaking in a young man's fountain. And then there's Will Warren, a pitching prospect who is about to rebound from his rough big league debut last season.
Then there's Rodon, who was a big story two before, but only injured mid-camp with a forearm tension, and with a bad back he was bystanded until July.
It gave way to a disastrous first season with Pinstripes, where he posted a 6.85 ERA with a 16 start. Last spring, I created a question about how he could recover from such a brutal introduction to the Yankees.
And now, leaving the very solid season when he settled down and made all 32 starts, Rodon had a normal camp without halabaloo.
“That's fair. That's a good point,” manager Aaron Boone said Friday afternoon. “I remember last year his first spring outing, everything is made with it. He remembers chopping trees, just chopping trees, through spring training from the previous offseason.
“He's continuing to do that and obviously we're counting on him.”
Rodon worked to expand Arsenal's four-seam fastball, turning his changeup into more weapons (occupying 3 strikeouts on Friday) and even sprinkling some two-seam fastballs.
He quietly did most of it, but should not be confused as it is not important.
The Yankees need to pitch like the big arm Rodon is paying him for.
“I think he's definitely the most important thing right now,” catcher Austin Wells said. “Last year he was able to complete all the starts and never missed the start. If he could do it for us and get out there and get a quality start, it's huge for us.”
