Carlos Rodón exits Sunday start with hamstring injury

It’s an understatement to say that the first season of Carlos Rodón’s six-year, $162 million contract has been ugly. The lefty pitcher had an elbow strain in spring training that delayed his Yankees debut and subsequent back problems pushed it all the way to July 7th. Then when he finally took the mound, he was a shell of the dominant presence who earned All-Star appearances with the White Sox and Giants in 2021 and 2022.

Rodón endured more of the same struggles on Sunday afternoon against the Astros, as homers by Jake Meyers and Yordan Alvarez put New York in a 5-1 hole and inflated his numbers to a 7.33 ERA, 7.38 FIP, 6.0 BB/9, and 2.7 HR/9 in just 27 innings. Of his six starts, only one has been anything to write home about, and he just hasn’t looked right at all.

If Rodón is suffering from a new ailment, then that would at least explain part of it. He departed Sunday’s start after just 2.2 innings, as YES Network’s Jeff Nelson speculated on a possible leg injury.

Jhony Brito took Rodón’s place as the lefty exited to a cascade of boos. With Domingo Germán out and Luis Severino continuing to look awful, fans are all the more frustrated at the prospect of losing another starter. Rodón hadn’t exactly endeared himself during an earlier start in Anaheim, either.

We’ll have more on this story as it develops.

Update

The Yankees announced that Rodón left with left hamstring tightness. He will undergo an MRI tomorrow.