Carlos Rodón made his second rehab start on Thursday night and looked great.
Rodón made his second rehab start for the Somerset Patriots, the Yankees' Double-A affiliate. He threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing just two hits and one walk. He struck out seven batters, throwing 58 pitches. He landed 41 of those pitches for strikes.
As expected, his workload increased from his last rehab start. His last start came in Triple-A, and he threw just 2 2/3 innings. He totaled 48 pitches, landing just 29 for strikes. His command was much better this time around, and he got deeper into the game. This is the second time this year that Rodón is trying to come back from an injury.
He started the year on the injured list after offseason elbow surgery. He returned, made nine starts and then went back on the injured list with left elbow inflammation. He had a 3.30 ERA in those nine starts, and recorded 52 strikeouts.
Getting him back would be huge for Aaron Boone's team. He was an All-Star last season, and adding him to a rotation that already features Cam Schlittler, Max Fried and Gerrit Cole would give the Yankees one of, if not the best, rotations in baseball.
Will Warren or Ryan Weathers would seemingly go to the bullpen when Rodón is back, and that could end up giving the bullpen a boost. Fried, Rodón, Cole and Schlittler have not all been in the rotation at the same time this year.