With less than a month to go before the trade deadline, the Yankees are thought to be prioritizing a right-handed catcher and a top-tier relief weapon in talks with other clubs. Conversely, the rotation has been a strength all season, as the team has held on Cam Schlittler is a Top-10 unit in ERA (3.54), strikeout rate (24.2%), and fWAR (8.7).
Health is going to be a big X factor for rotation going forward. That is especially true of lighting Carlos Rodón of arriving on the injured list on Friday, as well Fried MaxContinued absence due to left elbow injury. Rodón went down with left elbow inflammation, and initially, the team did not provide a clear timeline for his return. Now, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Rodón is believed to be four to six weeks away from returning to the big league mound.
The 33-year-old lefty had surgery in October to remove debris from his elbow, which led to him opening the season on the injured list. Rodón worked on May 10 and has posted a 3.30 ERA while averaging just over five innings per start. He’s walking batters at an absurdly high 13.4% rate, but he’s also done well keeping the ball in the yard. Rodón allowed just three homers in 46 1/3 innings (0.58 HR/9), a significant improvement over last year’s 1.01 HR/9, which was already his best in three seasons with the Yankees.
The overall output makes Rodón a key piece of New York’s playoff-worthy rotation along with Schlittler, Fried, and Gerrit Cole. Now, Rodón may not return until mid-August, so the team may feel the need to add a starter at the deadline. Between Rodón’s injury history and that of the Yankees’ deep pieces, such as Luis Gil again Clark Schmidtit would be wise to add to the rotation rather than assume better health during an extended run or impact performance from their minor league options. Although the latter is unlikely, as Schlittler proved last year, it is unlikely Elmer Rodríguez and some will be in pieces during this year’s postseason.
While Rodón may miss the rest of July, his versatile partner in Fried is close to returning. As reported by Bill Ladson of MLB.com, Fried followed Friday’s bullpen session by taking live batting practice this morning. He threw a total of 36 pitches, mixing in his four-seamer, slider, and cutter. According to the manager Aaron BooneFried will be throwing another live session later in the week and may begin rework soon after that.
That increases the chances of Fried returning before the end of July. With Ryan Weathers having a 5.81 ERA over his last six as well Is Warren since it is strong but not dominant, a healthy Fried will be its improvement in the rotation. The lefty posted a 3.21 ERA in 10 starts before going down with a hamstring injury.
He also worked to hone his delivery while at IL, with Ladson writing that Fried is trying to “balance and have more time” after hearing that his mechanics were off early in the season. Improved health and mechanics could help Fried maintain his early season performance during the extended process while fending off injury risks for Rodón and Weathers. The latter is just 6 1/3 innings shy of his career high in a single season (94 2/3 innings in 2021).
Turning to the case, Ladson writes that second player Jazz Chisholm Jr.Out of today’s game due to a leg injury. Facing the first twins Joe RyanChisholm flew out to right field and appeared to limp as he ran to first base. Amed Rosario entered Kisholm in the top of the sixth, playing third base, while José Caballero skip to the second.
Chisholm struggled to a 74 wRC+ at the end of April but has a 110 wRC+ as of May 1st. Statcast continues to be positive about his performance at second base, giving him 8 Outs Above Average and an 83rd-percentile Fielding Run Value. With Aaron is the judge on the shelf, Chisholm’s 2.2 fWAR makes him the Yankees’ third-most valuable backfielder. Ben Rice again Cody Bellinger. He is a free agent after the season, so both player and team will hope that Chisholm’s leg injury is not too serious and that he continues to perform well in the second half.
Photo courtesy of Paul Rutherford, Imagn Images
