New York Yankees: Carlos Rodon should be careful what he wishes for

Seth Carlson

Mar 5, 2023; North Port, Florida, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Actions often speak louder than words, but with the news that New York Yankees’ lefty Carlos Rodon is slated to miss the beginning of the 2023 season with a “mild left elbow strain,” we won’t have any action to speak of.

That means the 30-year-old lefty should probably be careful what we wishes for with his words as he recovers from this latest setback.

Carlos Rodon’s injury setback could be costly for both him and the New York Yankees

In speaking with reporters Thursday, Rodon quipped that when it comes down to it, he’s in New York to pitch in October.

Carlos Rodón: “I'm not here to pitch until the All-Star break. I’m here to pitch well into October. If this was down the stretch, yeah, I would be going for sure. If it's October 5 or the ALDS, I'm taking the ball.”
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) March 9, 2023

It’s likely safe to assume that the Yankees will be a playoff team again in 2023, although their rotation is currently battered with injuries as it is, with Nestor Cortes Jr., and Frankie Montas also sidelined. Injury adversity isn’t a foreign language to Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone, but pitching injuries, especially ones to elbows like in Rodon’s case, are all the more reason for concern.

And let’s not forget that Rodon doesn’t exactly have the cleanest bill of health we’ve ever seen. He just made 30 or more starts in a season for the first time ever last season, so starting a season on the injured list should be somewhat alarming for the Yankees. If you’re looking to build your case as a reliable, consistent pitcher in this league, admitting you’re a half-season player (at most) isn’t the way to go about doing that.

To that end, Carlos Rodon better be absolutely dynamite this October, assuming he’s not still on the shelf by then, because otherwise he’ll never live this quote down. The Yankees brought Rodon in to help them (at last) defeat the dominant Houston Astros, and sitting on the bench isn’t going to aid that cause any.

Carlos Rodon better be careful what he wishes for. Or else he’ll just become the latest Yankee acquisition to hit the shelf when his team needs him.

Seth Carlson

Seth has been with FanSided since April 2020, most notably as Site Expert at Nolan Writin' (Texas Rangers) for over two years. He is a graduate of Temple University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in History and Spanish. When he's not busy writing about baseball, find him talking about it, watching it and going to games when he can.