New York Yankees Veteran Emerges to Bolster Rotation in Wake of Injuries

The New York Yankees have a clear X-factor in their starting rotation as this veteran as emerged as a clear No. 2.

Apr 18, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Dave Nelson-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees are off to a fantastic start this season, and one of their key players is starting to find his groove in 2025.

Coming into the year, there were a lot of question marks surrounding the starting rotation. Before spring training, this unit looked like it could have been one of the best in baseball with Gerrit Cole and Max Fried at the top of the rotation followed by the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil.

Unfortunately, injuries decimated the rotation early on. Gerrit Cole was lost of the year with Tommy John surgery and Gil is out until the summer with a lat strain.

Furthermore, Clarke Schmidt also started the campaign on the injured list but has since returned.

All of these injuries greatly tested the depth of the starting rotation for New York, and for the most part, the results weren’t great. The trio of Will Warren, Carlos Carrasco, and Marcus Stroman before his injury have been largely ineffective.

While Max Fried has been better than advertised, the Yankees have needed another one of their pitchers to step up.

So far, one of the players who has stepped up has been southpaw Carlos Rodon.

The left-hander has had his fair share of ups and downs in just over two years with New York, but the team is relying on him to be the two-time All-Star that he was before signing.

In his first campaign with the Yankees, Rodon got off to a terrible start and was never able to turn his season around. The left-hander finished with a 3-8 record and a 6.85 ERA. It looked like at the time like his signing was going to be a complete failure, but he bounced back in 2024, going 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA.

This season he continues to trend upward.

In seven starts, he has totaled a 4-3 record, 3.43 ERA, and 52 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched.

When looking back at his All-Star campaigns in 2021 and 2022, he had a strikeout per nine rate of 12.0 and higher. While he isn’t quite at that number this season, he is at 11.0.

However, with a walk rate of 4.1 per nine innings, that is an area that he needs to improve as the year progresses.

Overall, while there have been some ups and downs this campaign, numbers are looking good for Rodon. If he can further establish himself as the reliable number two pitcher for New York, it would help the franchise sustain success in 2025.