Starting pitcher Carlos Rodón joined the New York Yankees last winter by signing a six-year, $162 million contract. Unfortunately, his first season in pinstripes didn’t go at all how he planned.
Multiple trips to the injured list limited the left-handed hurler to just 14 starts and 64.1 innings. His performance on the mound also wasn’t great, as Rodón turned in a 6.85 ERA and 1.45 WHIP with 64 strikeouts. Already in Tampa to get prepared for the upcoming season, he spoke with Greg Joyce of the New York Post about his nightmare 2023 campaign.
“I just feel like I got some stuff to prove and I want to stay on the field a lot longer than I did last year,” he said before a February 12 bullpen session.
“I know I’ve got to be better,” Rodon said. “Listen, I’ll be transparent with you. All of us are human. We hear everything. Now whether that eats at you, or do you actually listen and dive into it, that’s a person-by-person basis. But you’re eventually going to crack an egg when you hear it a thousand times. I know I’m being transparent and honest: It is hard, but as a New York Yankee that is our job to keep that shell tough. Good thing it was the end of the year and I got to move on and forget about baseball and come back refreshed and let’s start at it again.”
This Was a Much Different Offseason for Rodón
The southpaw has hopes of regaining his performance from 2021-22 during the 2024 season. Rodón was selected to the All-Star Game both times and produced two straight top-six finishes in Cy Young voting. Across 310.2 innings pitched, the lefty went 27-13 with a 2.67 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 422 strikeouts.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman provided an encouraging update on Rodón’s offseason on January 18. The hurler provided more context on how this offseason was different while talking to Joyce.
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