Around the Empire: Yankees news - 10/1/23

Yahoo Sports | Chris Cwik: Carlos Rodón’s first season as a member of the Yankees has not gone ideally, to say the least. His final start of the season was his worst of the year, as he allowed eight runs in the first inning and failed to record even a single out. His frustrations boiled over when pitching coach Matt Blake came out in the midst of the inning for a discussion that Rodón visibly did not want to have. After the game, the pitcher expressed regret for the incident which he called “really embarrassing” and later apologized to Blake.

Sports Illustrated | Patrick McAvoy: Ahead of Saturday’s game against the Royals, the Yankees activated pitcher Frankie Montas from the injured list for the first time all year. He threw 1.1 innings of scoreless ball to get on the board in 2023. Montas was the Yankees’ big trade deadline acquisition last year, but struggled before missing most of this season. He’s set to be a free agent this offseason, but has reportedly expressed some interest in giving it another shot in pinstripes next year.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe has shown flashes of the top prospect he was coming into this season, but hasn’t put everything together in his first season in the majors. Despite that, there’s plenty of hope for future years, some of which comes from the dugout opposite the Yankees this weekend. The Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. has put in a very impressive sophomore season after not quite making an immediate impact as a rookie, which the Yankees will hope will be the case for Volpe.

MLB.com | Anthony Castrovince: The annual Arizona Fall League is set to kick off soon, and there will be some new rules tested during the prospect league. Among the experiments planned for this year are adjustments to the pitching clock, changes to the running lane when a batter runs from home to first, and a crackdown on players blocking bases on stolen base attempts.