Alexander Wilson
The New York Yankees made the expected rotation move Saturday, placing Max Fried on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday, with a left elbow bone bruise and recalling right-hander Elmer Rodriguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
It is a tough hit for a rotation already adjusting on the fly. Fried has been one of the Yankees’ most important arms this season, posting a 4-3 record with a 3.21 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 50 strikeouts over 61.2 innings. Losing that kind of stability, even temporarily, is not small.
Rodriguez gets another chance
Rodriguez now gets another opportunity in the big leagues, and the Yankees should still feel comfortable giving him the ball. His first MLB stint was bumpy, with a 5.19 ERA, 2.08 WHIP, five strikeouts, and eight walks over 8.2 innings, but that line tells a pretty clear story.
The stuff is not the problem. The command and the heartbeat are.
Rodriguez looked like a pitcher trying to survive his first taste of the majors instead of attacking the way he did in Triple-A. That happens. He is 22 years old, he has real arm talent, and he was excellent in Scranton before his first promotion, carrying a 1.27 ERA through his first four Triple-A starts.
The Yankees need him to breathe
This is not about Rodriguez replacing Fried one-for-one, because that is not happening. Fried is an established top-end starter, and his elbow injury already created a real rotation problem.
But Rodriguez is more than capable of giving the Yankees competitive innings if he settles down. The fastball plays, the arsenal is deep enough, and the upside is obvious. He just has to throw strikes and stop pitching like every missed spot is about to become a disaster.
If he does that, this second chance could look a lot cleaner than the first one.
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