With the New York Yankees' lead in the standings over the rival Boston Red Sox evaporating by the day, the team is preparing for the return of one of their best starting pitchers.
According to manager Aaron Boone, southpaw Carlos Rodon will throw his first rehab start on Saturday at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The start will be limited to about 50 pitches to see how his elbow responds to the workload. If all goes well, Rodon could throw one more rehab start, but the plan is to bring him back to the rotation before he is fully built up and deploy him in a piggyback situation.
The 33-year-old has been sidelined with left elbow inflammation since July 3rd. He threw a 40-pitch live session at Yankee Stadium on Monday during which he was seen throwing to injured slugger Giancarlo Stanton. Rodon missed the first two months of the season after undergoing offseason surgery on the same elbow to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur that was bothering him.
In nine starts this season, Rodon has a 4-2 record alongside a 3.30 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. Rodon has been a stable presence in the Yankees' rotation, particularly last season in the absence of Gerrit Cole. With the Yankees failing to add any new pitchers at the MLB trade deadline, Rodon's addition back to the rotation will be a welcome boost for a team that is in dire need of a spark.
Rodon's return couldn't come at a better time for the Yankees. The team is now just 0.5 games up on the Red Sox for the first AL Wild Card spot, after holding a 15.5-game lead over their biggest rivals as recently as June 24th. With the Yankees hosting the Atlanta Braves and the Red Sox hosting the Athletics, Boston could pass New York in the standings by the end of the weekend.
