Positive Yankees injury update, of course, comes with grain of salt

While New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided a positive injury update to pitcher Carlos Rodon, there was some concerning news on Thursday.

The New York Yankees‘ big offseason addition was former Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Carlos Rodon. The expectation was that Rodon would be at the top of the rotation alongside Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes.

But in spring training, Rodon suffered a left elbow strain that was supposed to keep him out until late April. Then, Rodon picked up a back injury that has halted his rehabilitation process.

On Wednesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that Rodon’s test results on his back came back “pretty normal.” That’s good. But on Thursday ahead of the team’s game against the Los Angeles Angels, Boone revealed that Rodon won’t throw for the next few days as he undergoes another CT scan.

Even with this update, Boone expressed his belief that they feel it’s a “minor issue.”

Carlos Rodon shut down to undergo another CT scan on back

Rodon was a sought-after starting pitcher in free agency, as he had back-to-back All-Star seasons. In 2022, Rodon recorded a 2.88 ERA, a 1.028 WHIP, 237 strikeouts and 52 walks in 178.0 innings pitched. So, the Yankees made the move to add Rodon to their rotation, which was already an area of strength, and signed him to an eight-year, $162 million contract.

That area of strength has now been marred by injuries. Not only is Rodon out dealing with back and elbow injuries, but Luis Severino is dealing with a strained right lat muscle and Frankie Montas underwent shoulder surgery back in February. That has caused the Yankees to rely upon a rotation consisting of Cole, Cortes, Domingo German, Clarke Schmidt and Jhony Brito.

While Boone and the Yankees feel confident that Rodon’s back issue won’t be major, the fanbase will be waiting for an addition update that says that that is truly the case.