It’s only taken a couple days for Carlos Rodón to turn heads at New York Yankees camp.
Rodón’s first season in the Bronx after signing a six-year, $162-million contract last winter was a disaster. But the 31-year-old seems to have reported to spring training a new man and throwing like the pitcher the Yankees expected they were signing.
“From where he is right now to 12 months ago, it’s night and day,” manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “He’s just in a way better place. He had the offseason and the winter that he needed to have to give himself the best chance to be successful. He’s checked that first box.”
An uptick in velocity has been the biggest change for Rodón this spring. He was hitting 94-95 mph and got as high as 97 mph with his fastball during live batting practice this week. By comparison, Rodón was sitting in the high 80s at the same time last year.
“There’s just another gear to it,” pitching coach Matt Blake told The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner on Friday. “It just looks like he’s moving more athletically with a little more power. All of that is coming together.”
Rodón rediscovering his form and slotting in as a legitimate No. 2 behind Gerrit Cole is critical for a Yankees team that has aspirations of a parade down Broadway. He signed in New York after consecutive All-Star seasons and was the major-league leader in K/9 with the San Francisco Giants in 2022.
Last year, however, Rodón authored a career-worst 6.85 ERA in only 14 starts, was booed off the field at Yankee Stadium, and angered fans when he blew a kiss to jeering fans in Anaheim after a rough outing. In his final start of the year, Rodón tied an MLB record by allowing eight runs without recording an out.
After that difficult end to his season, Rodón got away from baseball entirely as part of a total reset before arriving at the Yankees’ Florida complex in early January.
Rodón told Hoch he had some mechanical issues last season, stating his delivery was “a little wonky.” Both he and Blake feel he’s fixed those issues, setting him up for the rebound he and the Yankees want to see in 2024.
“I know I can be better,” Rodón said, per Kirschner. “I wanted to perform better. All of us want these things. Sometimes they just don’t happen, so now it’s about how we analyze that and how do we reflect on that? Last year was last year. It’s one of those things that I do want to put behind me, and I will still reflect on it. Like, what happened? Why did it go this way? Hopefully, we found answers.”
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