After a disappointing 2023 season, New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon wants to get his glory back. Rodon knows he needs to improve and as spring training approaches, he appears ready to bounce back from a tough first year with the Yankees.
On Monday, the left-hander talked about his resolve at the Yankees player development complex in Tampa, as reported by Greg Joyce of The New York Post.
“I just feel like I got some stuff to prove and I want to stay on the field a lot longer than I did last year,” Rodon said.
When asked about outside criticism, he mentioned his desire to get better while also explaining that as a Yankees player, he has to be internally strong and not let tough situations get the better of him.
“I know I’m being transparent and honest: It is hard, but as a New York Yankee, that is our job to keep the shell tough. Good thing it was the end of the year and I got to move on and forgot about baseball and come back refreshed and let’s start at it again," Carlos Rodon said.
The Yankees signed Rodon to a six-year deal worth $162 million in December 2022 but things didn’t go as planned. His first season in the Bronx was riddled with injuries and underperformance. The southpaw spent three months on the injury list due to forearm strain and back stiffness.
After his return in July 2023, he again left in August due to a hamstring strain. Last year, he had three wins and eight losses, with a 6.85 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and 64 strikeouts.
Carlos Rodon will look to emulate past performances
Prior to his Yankees switch, Rodon had great performances in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, and would hope to regain that level this year. During those previous seasons, he was selected as an All-Star twice and was also among the top six in Cy Young Award voting both times.
In total, Carlos Rodon pitched 310.2 innings with a record of 27 wins and 13 losses and recorded a 2.67 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 422 strikeouts.