BRONX — The Yankees may not be able to say exactly how close Carlos Rodon is to making his debut, but he has continued to take steps in the right direction.
Rodon played catch from 120 feet on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium and said inside the Yankees’ clubhouse that he hasn’t been dealing with any further pain in his back since he was given a cortisone shot. The lefty said that Tuesday’s catch was a little more intense after a lighter day on Monday and he hopes to throw off the mound again “hopefully soon.”
“That’s kind of up to the training staff and how they think I’m proceeding throughout the throwing,” Rodon said when discussing throwing off the mound. “I felt like I was capable today, but obviously, there’s patience involved in the whole process. But whenever they say to get on the mound I’m sure I will be ready.”
The Yankees’ big offseason signing has yet to make his debut after dealing with a forearm injury during spring training and then a back issue that popped up when he was ramping up. A shot was administered to Rodon for his back on May 9 and it seemed to have helped.
Rodon described the back issue as a “mixture of stuff” and wasn’t clear on the correct verbiage when he spoke to the gathered group of reporters at his locker on Tuesday. There didn’t appear to be any particular reason why the back issue developed, other than the throwing process that he had been going through to recover from the forearm strain.
Even with the progress that’s been made Rodon and manager Aaron Boone couldn’t put a date on when he could get into games. Boone did mention hopefully getting Rodon a bullpen session by the end of the week.
While Rodon has not had any issues with his back since the shot, the pitcher said that it’s something that he’ll remain cognizant of going forward.
“Any ailments with the body you have to be pretty proactive with, whether it’s a back or whatever it is,” Rodon said. “I think it’s something I’m gonna have to be on top of forever. It’s just how my body functions. They didn’t say anything specifically, where like, ‘oh, you’re gonna stay on top of it.’ It’s kind of like known that you have to. Once you start to have something you have to be proactive with it.”
The Yanks’ major offseason signing is now back in New York with the rest of the ball club as he goes through his rehab. And the Yankees are excited to have him in the Bronx.
“He can do everything he needs to do with us over the next couple of weeks before he is ready to be in play for rehab assignments and things like that. I think it’s good that he’s with us and around us and around his teammates. Hopefully that something serves him as well,” Boone said.
