TAMPA – By the time the Yankees’ 2025 season came to an end, Carlos Rodón couldn’t bend his money-making left arm or button a shirt. And yet, the southpaw found a way to pitch through the pain in his elbow, which underwent offseason surgery to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur.
“It was fun every day to challenge myself to go pitch,” Rodón said Saturday. “Did it hurt sometimes pitching? Sure, but I’d rather go out there and compete. I was throwing well, so I couldn’t just say, ‘Oh, I can’t pitch.’
“It was manageable.”
While Rodón’s October procedure came as a surprise announcement, the Yankees knew that he was managing his elbow throughout the 2025 campaign. The aches in his elbow actually dated back three or four years; the 33-year-old called it a “chronic thing” that had gradually gotten worse over time.
“If you’re a starting pitcher in this league, especially when you’ve done it for a long time, you’re gonna have wear and tear,” Aaron Boone said. “You’re gonna have things you gotta deal with. Being able to adapt to those things is important, and obviously, Carlos has shown that ability.”
Despite being less than 100%, Rodón enjoyed his best season as a Yankee in 2025, going 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA over a career-high 33 starts and 195.1 innings. He was also an All-Star.
He’s endured other injuries throughout his career, including a Tommy John operation in 2019, but he never worried about pitching through the discomfort in his elbow last season.
“Being a guy that’s been on the injured list a good part of his career, missing that time sucks,” Rodón said. “Not being able to compete, it’s hard. I’d rather be pitching. If I think I can pitch at 80%, or whatever it is, and help the team win and I could do that, I’m gonna do that because that’s what I was brought here to do.”
Rodón said that he decided to undergo his most recent surgery because his velocity dipped late last season. He added that it felt like his arm “got ran over by a bus” after going under the knife, but he received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) shot to help the healing process. He got a second injection about 10 days ago.
Now the southpaw is five bullpens into his throwing progression. That includes the 20-pitch session he threw on Friday, which saw him toss fastballs, changeups and some sliders. That was the first time he had been on a mound in a week, as he had a de-load period baked into his rehab plans, but he came away happy with his velocity.
Typically, Rodón would be facing hitters by now. He previously said that he hopes to pitch in exhibition games by the end of spring training, which could put him on track for a season debut some time in April.
“That would be awesome,” Rodón said, but he noted that no timeline is definitive. “I mean, I would love that. I hope I can make that.”
Carlos Rodón, who also has a surgically repaired elbow, is throwing to Ben Rice. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/UrKkyMURMy
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 14, 2026
WARREN’S LONG-TERM
In case there was any doubt, Boone reiterated that the Yankees see Will Warren as a starter long-term. Sure, the 26-year-old could theoretically move to a bullpen full of question marks should the Yankees’ rotation ever get fully healthy, but that is not the job Boone envisions for Warren, who had a 4.44 ERA over 33 starts as a rookie last year.
“He profiles as a starting pitcher,” Boone said after Warren threw live batting practice on Saturday. “He is a starting pitcher. Could he go back to the pen in a role? Probably could. You never know who’s going to take to those kinds of things, but we’re getting him ready to be a starter.”
BLACKBURN BUILDING UP
Boone noted that Paul Blackburn, re-signed over the offseason, will build up as a starter this spring. That was expected, as Blackburn has been a starter for most of his nine-year career.
However, it will take another injury to the rotation for Blackburn or Ryan Yarbrough, another swingman, to avoid relief roles. Blackburn had some success pitching out of the bullpen after joining the Yankees last year, allowing two earned runs over his last 12 innings of the regular season. That earned him a spot on the Yankees’ postseason rosters.
