The New York Yankees have already suffered one major pitching injury this off-season, Frankie Montas. Montas, acquired from the Oakland Athletics at the trade deadline last summer, was already dealing with a shoulder injury when he made his way to the Bronx.
Montas recently opened up about the issue and how he tried to pitch through it anyway, resulting in a much more serious problem that required surgery this off-season. Unfortunately, Montas will likely miss nearly the entire 2023 campaign, potentially making a return in August.
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The Yankees are now down Carlos Rodon, as well:
However, the Bombers lost another one of their prominent arms this week, newly signed free-agent starter, Carlos Rodon. Rodon signed a six-year, $162 million deal, so it is quite frustrating that he’s already set to land on the injured list ahead of the regular season, according to Bryan Hoch MLB.com.
At 30 years old, Rodon enjoyed a 2.88 ERA last season, including a 2.91 xFIP, 12 strikeouts per nine, and a 75% left-on-base rate over 178 innings. Rodon made one spring appearance, showcasing lower-than-expected velocities. He pitched just two innings and gave up five earned runs and six hits.
This is obviously a significant blow to the Yankee starting rotation, so expect Domingo German and Clarke Schmidt to pick up the slack in the meantime.
German has had a great start to Spring, but Schmidt has had his ups and downs but expects to have another chance to correct his wrong doings during Thursday afternoon’s start against the Boston Red Sox. Given the Yankees have already lost two starting pitchers before Opening Day, they will need Schmidt and German to step up big in the meantime.