The Yankees signed Carlos Rodon to be pitching in big games this time of year.
Instead, this October, the left-hander planned on getting away from the game before he got to work on a critical offseason.
While the Yankees’ problems this season went beyond just Rodon, he did not exactly make the best first impression in pinstripes after inking a six-year, $162 million contract last offseason.
A season that was delayed by injuries ended in a horrific blowup against the Royals, stoking concerns about what exactly the Yankees can expect from Rodon in the coming years.
That makes this offseason a vital one for Rodon as he tries to get himself back on track, with the Yankees planning to stay on top of him before he gets to spring training.
“Especially now that we’ve had a full year together, I think we know more about each other and what the rhythm of conversation needs to look like,” pitching coach Matt Blake said on the final day of the regular season. “Obviously having some of the struggles this year, there are more things we want to stay on top of in the offseason to make sure we’re heading in on a good path to spring training.
“There’s a better rhythm to the conversation, whereas last year it was kind of an introduction of, ‘Hey, Carlos Rodon is coming on,’ just being in touch with him. Now you know what he needs.”
Rodon’s season, which he finished with a 6.85 ERA across 14 starts and just 64 ¹/₃ innings, was derailed first by physical issues.
The 30-year-old, who had a long history of injuries before staying mostly healthy in 2021 and 2022 to help land him the big contract with the Yankees, sustained a forearm muscle strain after one spring training start.
Then he had his rehab from that sidetracked by back problems, delaying his debut until July 7.
Rodon, who indicated in May that doctors had told him his back issues were “chronic,” later returned briefly to the injured list in August for a hamstring strain.
Asked if Rodon was in good enough shape this year, Blake said it was “hard to say for sure” because this was the Yankees’ first year with him and they did not have any experience with how he normally came into camp.
“So I think it is something we say, ‘All right, that’s gotta be a focus for us of making sure we’re physically prepared to go this spring training to hit the ground running so we don’t have any hiccups,’ ” Blake said. “That would be the main priority this offseason. Then obviously we’ll have some conversations along the way — where he’s at, where he’s training and just be following up with him, just like any other guy.”
The Yankees saw the closest thing to the Rodon they thought they were getting in back-to-back September starts against the Red Sox and Pirates.
He combined to pitch 11 ²/₃ innings while giving up four runs and striking out 19.
He averaged 96.1 mph and 96.4 mph on his fastball in those two games — two of the three highest averages of his season — before it fell off in his final two starts (including 93.6 mph in his finale), though he and the Yankees insisted he was healthy.
Rodon also began to incorporate more of his curveball and changeup late in the season to go with his usual heavy fastball-slider mix, which the Yankees thought helped his fastball play better.
Both Rodon and Blake also pointed to the left-hander finding a rhythm in his mechanics as being essential in helping him get back to the pitcher the Yankees need him to be.
“I think the consistency of the delivery is a piece of it,” Blake said. “Being able to command the fastball up and to the arm side, where he’s had a lot of success, up and in to righties. Being able to land some of the breaking balls in certain areas.
“But there’s certain things in the lower half that we want to see on a consistent basis that we’ll kind of dive into.”