Yankees player Carlos Rodon dodges a shot
The New York Yankees learned some troubling news Thursday, as Carlos Rodon suffered a left forearm strain that ruled him beyond the start of the regular season. Rodon signed a six-year, $162 million deal with the Bombers this off-season, hoping to pair with Gerrit Cole as the team’s best pitcher.
Rodon is coming off an excellent campaign with the San Francisco Giants, pitching a career-high 178 runs. He posted a 2.88 ERA, 2.91 xFIP, 12 strikeouts per nine, and a 75.1% on-base rate. Given that Rodon compiled two consecutive 130-plus innings pitched seasons, the Yankees felt they could stick with him long-term as a cornerback in the rotation. Of course, the fact that he’s actually dealing with an injury is a bit scary, but the Bombers knew this could happen and were willing to wait.
Fortunately, Rodon’s injury doesn’t seem to matter too much, with coach Aaron Boone suggesting he could return in April as a best-case scenario.
Chris Kirschner of The Athletic spoke to “Dr. Spencer Stein, MD, sports orthopedic surgeon at NYU Langone Orthopedic Surgery,” who offered some optimistic news:
“Most commonly, strained forearm muscles are called flexor brachialis of which the brachialis muscle is not one,” said Stein, who neither saw Rodon’s X-ray or MRI nor treated him. “Strains of the pronator muscles can be completely inactive. Brachioradialis strains are less common and don’t see as much torque and stress as other flexor muscles. For this reason, the prognosis is better and should lead to a shorter recovery.”
The Yankees should have handled Carlos Rodon better:
Carlos made one appearance during spring training, giving up six earned runs via five strikeouts. Of course, this wasn’t what the Yankees or Rodon had hoped for, especially after he complained of forearm discomfort just a day earlier. The Yankees made him play anyway, which certainly proved to be a terrible idea, given he was so battered.
Going forward, expect to see plenty of Clark Schmidt and Domingo German in the starting rotation so Rodon can make his comeback. The good news is that he avoided Champions League damage and should make a full recovery without any long-term concerns, but the Yankees still have to complete their loss for now.
