Carlos Rodón's best season with the Yankees can be traced back to an unlikely cause

The first two years of Carlos Rodón in pinstripes left something to be desired. For six years and $162 million, you should be able to expect ace-like production, but in his first season with the New York Yankees, everything went wrong for Rodón.

The 6.85 ERA in just 64 1/3 innings of work in 2023 was horrible, and though 2024's 3.96 ERA was a nice bounce back, Rodón was playing the role of innings-eater rather than a top-of-the-rotation starter. The 3.09 ERA in a career-high 195 1/3 innings this past season finally had Rodón living up to his contract.

Rodón will be on the shelf to start 2026, though the Yankees got some good news regarding his prognosis, as the veteran lefty has begun throwing following his mid-October elbow surgery. The hope is that he can get some work in the Grapefruit League in February, and then only have to make a couple of minor league rehab starts before he is ready for his 2026 debut.

Appearing on Yankees Hot Stove, Rodón spoke about his recovery, the impact the injury had on him, and provided an intriguing backstory to what drove his turnaround in 2025.

Carlos Rodón's elbow injury fueled a repertoire change that led to his Yankees breakout

It can't be overstated how much of a redemption the 2025 season was for the 33-year-old. While his postseason showing left something to be desired, it doesn't discount what a turnaround the regular season was.

What fueled that turnaround was a change in repertoire. Rodón threw fewer fastballs, dropping from 60.3% in 2023 to 49.4% in 2024, to 41.8% in 2025. He threw his slider slightly more, coming in at 28.4% versus 26% in 2024. He cut his curveball usage in half, with the pitch dropping from 8.3% utilization in 2024 to 3.8% in 2025. The beneficiary of the decrease in curveballs was his changeup, which went from 12.9% usage in 2024 to 16.2% in 2025.

The biggest change, however, was the reintroduction of a sinker into Rodón's arsenal. The last time he threw a sinker with any regularity was in 2018 with the Chicago White Sox, hurling it 12.1% of the time. This time around, he used it 9.6% of the time, helping him to a 43.5% ground ball rate, which was the first time he eclipsed 40% grounders since 2019.

In speaking about his injury and how it impacted him during the 2025 campaign, Rodón said, "It’s just one of those things that just becomes part of the day when you’re pitching. There’s plenty of guys that are banged up, competing out there. There’s not much room to make an excuse. My job is to go out there and compete and eat as many innings as I can, and give my team the best chance to win.”

When asked about the change in repertoire, he responded by saying, “The elbow had some say in that.”

The result was a better variety of speeds, different movements, and a better mix to change the hitter's eye-level, but the motivation wasn't efficiency; it was managing the pain.

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, but it is a little concerning that these weren't changes that came down from the Yankees' coaching staff, and rather were a crutch to deal with the bone spur that plagued his left elbow.

The good news is, intentional or not, the effect is the same, and it looks like Rodón has found a mix that works for him and will allow him to pitch up to his potential moving forward.