As Carlos Rodón chatted by his locker on Opening Day, he beamed with pride.
The Yankees’ southpaw had just held the Brewers to one earned run over 5.1 innings, securing a win. With four hits, two walks and seven strikeouts, it was a strong — if not spectacular — day of work.
It was the way in which Rodón went about his business, however, that left him feeling accomplished.
“That’s new for me,” Rodón excitedly said that day after he utilized soft contact and a five-pitch mix to defeat Milwaukee.
The start was a sign of things to come for the 32-year-old. Once a power pitcher who became stubbornly committed to his fastball and slider over his first two seasons in the Bronx, Rodón stuck to his Opening Day approach all season. With changeups, sinkers and curveballs aiding his bread and butter and Rodón yielding a career-high 5.4 Weak Contact%, he logged his best campaign as a Yankee yet.
An All-Star for the third time, he went 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA over 33 starts and 195.1 innings, teaming up with Max Fried atop a rotation that lost Gerrit Cole to Tommy John surgery in the spring. And even with a revamped methodology, Rodón still maintained a respectable 25.7 K%, which ranked 16th among all qualified starters.
“He’s obviously had a great season,” Aaron Boone said after Rodón allowed three earned runs over six innings in his last start of the regular season. “I think tonight’s a really good look at how far he’s come in his evolution as a pitcher. He can pitch his way through things. You see him, in a lot of these games, not overwhelming you with the big fastball. He usually has it when he needs it, but he has a real good feel and idea of pitching now.”
The hope now is that Rodón’s reinvention will translate to the postseason, as he is scheduled to start against the Red Sox in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series on Wednesday. The veteran has struggled against Boston this year, allowing 10 earned runs over three starts and 15.2 innings.
This won’t be Rodón’s first taste of playoff action with the Bombers, as he recorded a 5.60 ERA over four starts and 17.2 innings last October. That postseason included some good — Rodón held Cleveland to three runs over two ALCS starts — but also some bad. Rodón’s first World Series start only lasted 3.1 innings, and he got lost in his emotions during his Yankees postseason debut, starting off hot against the Royals in Game 2 of the ALDS before prematurely emptying his energy tank with a few animated reactions to some first-inning strikeouts.
On Tuesday, with the Yankees readying for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, Rodón said he “learned a lot about staying within myself” and controlling his emotions last October.
“I learned things need to be in check and to save that energy for innings down the road,” Rodón added, noting that Andy Pettitte and Cole helped him learn those lessons after that ALDS outing. “Those two, after that start, got my mind where it needed to be.”
A fiery pitcher for better or worse throughout his career, Rodón has kept his emotions in check all season this year. He’ll have to do the same Wednesday, as the Yankees are on the brink of elimination following Tuesday’s Game 1 loss. Rodón’s composure has been notable to the Yankees’ staff, including Boone and pitching coach Matt Blake.
So too has Rodón’s increased leadership, as he has taken rookie right-handers Will Warren and Cam Schlittler — who would start a potential do-or-die Game 3 on Thursday — under his wing. Boone attributed that mentorship to Rodón being more “comfortable and entrenched in the organization” and “how he’s grown as a pitcher.”
That makes sense, as Rodón is more of a complete pitcher now. He has more to share.
“He’s been someone I’ve been able to rely on and count on,” Schlittler said.
The Yankees can say the same.
That was rarely true during the first year of the six-year, $162 million deal Rodón signed, as he struggled with performance and health in 2023. Last season saw him initially resist his transformation into a different type of pitcher, but he eventually accepted that modifications had become necessary.
This year, he embraced it from the get-go. That resulted in the type of season the Yankees envisioned when they signed him, even if Rodón went about it in a new way.
Now he’s trying to take a new approach to October, which he called a “new season” and a “clean slate.” He added that what happened over the first 162 games “doesn’t really matter,” but that’s not entirely true after a successful season of change.
“It’s high stakes for sure,” Rodón said. “I’m just honored to have the opportunity to pitch for the Yankees in an important series. The goal is to go out there and win and give my best efforts.”
