Yankees left-handed starting pitcher Carlos Rodon took another significant stride in his rehab after undergoing surgery in October to remove “loose bodies” and a “bone spur” from his pitching elbow, according to the Yankees‘ beat writer and reporter for MLB.com, Bryan Hoch.
Hoch posted a tweet this afternoon stating that Rodon pitched “one inning of live batting practice at Steinbrenner field today”, says Hoch. He went on to add that this was the “first time Rodon faced hitters since having the elbow surgery”, stated Hoch in his tweet. According to Yankees manager Aaron Boone, Hoch reported that Rodon “threw 20 pitches and Boone didn’t rule out the possibility of a late April return”, reports Hoch.
Rodon Coming Off Impressive 2025 Managing Elbow Injury
Rodon is coming off a very strong 2025 season with the Yankees, in which he threw a career high in total innings (195.1)and over 200 strikeouts (203), which is the most strikeouts he’s posted in a single season since 2022, when he recorded a career high 237 strikeouts as a pitcher with the San Francisco Giants.
Rodon’s 2025 season was arguably his best season as a Yankee to date, especially when you compare it to his first two seasons in pinstripes in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, Rodon struggled to stay healthy and effective, posting a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts after being sidelined with a forearm injury in late March and then a hamstring injury at the beginning of April.
Rodon then came into Yankees camp the following season (2024), having lost weight and looking for a bounce back. He, in fact, sure did, posting a much-improved 3.96 ERA and pitching 32 games with 195 strikeouts. For Rodon, however, that wasn’t enough; he greatly improved upon that season last year (2025), recording 100 more strikeouts than the previous season (2024) and lowering his ERA impressively by 0.87 compared to his 2024 campaign.
Rodon stated back in February that his “elbow bothered him throughout the 2025 season”, and that it was so bad that he “needed help dressing himself in the morning and doing things such as buttoning his shirt”, stated Rodon to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch on February 14th.
Oddly enough, as it relates to pain management, it didn’t stop Rodon from being heavily relied on the entire 2025 season and one of the most effective starting pitchers in the Yankees’ rotation leading up to a playoff run.
Rodon stated to the New York Post’s Greg Joyce back in February that “his pain was manageable”, but that it was something he “wanted to fix” as it affected his “range of motion, stated Rodon to Greg Joyce.
Rodon Getting Closer To Return
As for next steps at this stage in Rodon’s rehabilitation, Opening Day and the first few weeks of the season were always out of the question, but he is currently projected to return sometime in late April or early May at the latest, according to ESPN.
Rodon, who will pitch in his age-33 season, still has to pitch in actual spring training games, and then will have to pitch on a minor league rehab assignment to properly build and ramp himself up for the 162-game season, which is why the recovery timeline still places him 1-2 months away realistically.
The Yankees’ starting rotation will, in the interim, have to suffice without Rodon, where left-hander Max Fried will lead the charge at the top of the rotation, followed by pitchers Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Luis Gil, and Ryan Weathers.
The Yankees also have starting pitcher Gerrit Cole recovering from injury (Tommy John Surgery) last season, except his recovery timeline is much later than Rodon’s, as Cole won’t return until late in the season, sometime in the second half.
Yankees’ Get Significant Carlos Rodon Rehab Update