TAMPA – As Gerrit Cole wrapped up his first live batting practice session since undergoing Tommy John surgery on Friday morning, Yankees pitching coaches Matt Blake and Preston Claiborne left George M. Steinbrenner Field in a hurry.
The two were in a rush because they wanted to see top pitching prospect Elmer Rodríguez, who started the Yankees’ spring opener, a 2-0 loss to the Orioles, in Sarasota.
The 22-year-old, invited to major league camp for the first time this spring, totaled three scoreless innings and 42 pitches at Ed Smith Stadium. Facing a Baltimore starting lineup that included big leaguers Pete Alonso – the ex-Met later homered in the exhibition – Gunnar Henderson, Tyler O’Neill and Adley Rutschman, Rodríguez allowed three hits, struck out one and walked none.
The strikeout came against Samuel Basallo on some high heat to conclude a 1-2-3 first inning. Rodríguez’s go-to sinker, meanwhile, topped out at 96.8 mph.
Elmer Rodríguez registers the first strikeout of Spring Training!
MLB’s No. 82 overall prospect (@Yankees) strikes out No. 8 prospect Samuel Basallo to cap a 1-2-3 inning. pic.twitter.com/6naWe3DhW7
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 20, 2026
Without overstating the significance of the Grapefruit League opener, Friday’s outing continued what has been a strong start to camp for Rodríguez.
“Big fan,” Aaron Boone said recently. “Another guy that I think has a really, really bright future as a starting pitcher. I think he’s got a chance to be a really good starter. He can do a lot of things with the ball on the mound. He’s got a number of different pitches. He’s got a real good feel to pitch. When I watch him, I look at him and think, ‘That guy’s gonna be a starter in this league for a long time.’ That’s my early impression.”
Rodríguez only has one Triple-A start under his belt, so odds are he will start the 2026 campaign with some more minor league seasoning. However, the farmhand, acquired from the Red Sox for catcher Carlos Narváez in December 2024, is on track to make his major league debut in 2026.
“They’re obviously pushing their way up the ladder,” Brian Cashman said in late January of Rodríguez and fellow top pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange, who will start the Yankees’ spring home opener on Saturday against the Tigers.
A NEW POSITION FOR MCMAHON?
With Oswaldo Cabrera returning from an ankle fracture and Anthony Volpe starting the season on the IL due to shoulder surgery, Boone said that Ryan McMahon could get some reps at shortstop this spring.
That doesn’t change that McMahon is the starting third baseman. Rather, the Yankees just want to see if him playing shortstop is viable should an emergency situation ever arise.
“I feel like he could absolutely handle it if we’re in a situation where we need him to be the backup or something,” Boone said, “so that’s probably something we’ll do a little bit of this spring. Not a lot of it.”
McMahon, an elite defender at the hot corner who played three innings at short for the Rockies in 2020, added, “I’m kind of excited for it, man. Every kid’s dream is to play shortstop for the Yankees, so it’s kind of cool. We’ll see how it goes.”
JUDGE’S PLANS
Boone said that Aaron Judge will make his spring training debut on Saturday. He is expected to play right field before DH’ing against the Mets on Sunday.
The plan is for the captain to play in four or five of the Yankees’ first nine spring training games before he joins Team USA for the World Baseball Classic.
