The New York Yankees were without ace pitcher Gerrit Cole all year in 2025 due to his Tommy John surgery. However, southpaw starter Carlos Rodon helped them stay competitive.
The 6-foot-2, 255-pounder went 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA over 33 starts. He finished tied for second in baseball in wins, 14th in ERA, 10th in strikeouts (203), and 10th in WHIP (1.05). He was the Robin to Max Fried's Batman, as the latter hurler led MLB with 19 wins against five losses and finished eighth in ERA (2.86).
Fried was New York's Opening Day pitcher in Wednesday's 7-0 win over the San Francisco Giants, as Cole is still ramping up and is expected back in May or June, per MLB.com. per Meanwhile, Rodon is expected back in April or May after getting his own elbow surgery this past offseason.
Manager Aaron Boone provided an update on Rodon before Tuesday's road matchup with the Seattle Mariners, via The New York Daily News's Gary Phillips.
"Aaron Boone said Carlos Rodón is dealing with some right hamstring tightness after running yesterday," he reported. "Boone doesn't think it's a big deal and added that Rodón did throw today. Rodón was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment but that's TBD for the moment."
Rodon's surgery in October removed loose bodies and shaved a bone spur in his elbow. The 33-year-old has faced live hitters four times since then, most recently tossing around 50 pitches in batting practice on March 24.
For now, the Yankees' four-man rotation includes Fried, rookie right-hander Cam Schlittler, right-hander Will Warren, and left-hander Ryan Weathers.
Yankees Could Have Stacked Rotation at Full Strength
© Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Considering that New York won 94 games and lost a tiebreaker with the Toronto Blue Jays for the division title last season without Cole, there's reason for fans to be excited when he returns. That's assuming that the 2023 AL Cy Young Award-winner performs like his vintage self.
Ditto for Rodon, who is recovering from a less major injury than Cole. If Cole, Fried, and Rodon all play to their fullest potential by midseason, that will give the Yankees one of the best veteran pitching trios in baseball. If Schlittler also pitches like he did last year, then they could have the best rotation.
The 25-year-old went 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA over 14 starts after getting called up in July and went 1-1 with a 1.26 ERA across two playoff starts. He picked up where he left off in his season debut on Friday, as he threw 5.1 shutout innings with one hit, eight strikeouts, and no walks in a 3-0 win over the Giants.
Fried will start for the Yankees on Tuesday night. The game will start at 9:40 p.m. ET on TBS.
