The New York Yankees didn’t make a huge splash at the trade deadline, but with some good additions and several key veterans set to return from the Injured List, this is a team that could be peaking at the right time of year.
Despite all of the injuries that they’ve suffered throughout the year, the Yankees are sitting in second place in the American League East with a 64-51 record, and with just a 4.5 game gap between them and the Tampa Bay Rays, optimism is high for the Yankees. Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger are both set to return, but in Carlos Rodon, the Yankees have a pitcher that could round out one of the best rotations in baseball, and now, he’s just a step away from his return.
Carlos Rodon set for Crucial Triple-A Start on Saturday
GettyCarlos Rodon of the New York Yankees.
Carlos Rodon has slowly been building up his return over the past few weeks, and now, we’ve got our clearest indication of the Yankees plan to date, with the veteran left-hander closing in on a big league return, with the Yankees desperately wanting their rotation at 100% before the regular season ends.
After throwing with the Yankees on Friday, Manager Aaron Boone provided an update on Friday, with Gary Phillips of NY Daily News Sports noting that Boone revealed the plan for Rodon will be to throw 50 pitches on Saturday, with a return to the big leagues before he’s fully built up the most likely outcome.
Obviously, this all depends on how Rodon holds up after throwing 50 pitches at Triple-A, but with the team hoping to put together the rotation of Rodon, Max Fried and Cam Schlittler ahead of the post-season, they will be hoping he can get through this and continue the rest of his rehabilitation at the MLB level.
Can the Yankees Assemble MLB’s Best Rotation?
On paper, that’s arguably baseball’s best rotation beyond the Dodgers, and if Rodon can get back to what we saw from him in 2025, this team has a chance to assemble an elite level quartet as the Yankees look to win their first World Series since 2009.
Before heading to the Injured List this season, Rodon started nine games for New York, and in that time he posted a record of 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA across 46.1 innings of work, and if he can continue that, there’s no reason why he couldn’t be a very effective pitcher for this team down the stretch and heading into the post-season.
Ultimately, the Yankees success in what has been a very promising 2026 campaign thus far depends on the health of their key pieces currently on the IL, and while Aaron Judge will play the biggest role upon return, if Rodon finds himself at 100% before September, the Yankees quartet and a healthy offense may find themselves as the favorites in a wide open American League.
Yankees Aaron Boone Reveals Plans for Carlos Rodon’s Return