Carlos Rodón injury setback during rehab should've been on every Yankees fan's radar

When the Yankees were expected to open the 2026 season without Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón (and Clarke Schmidt, for good measure), New York fans were on edge about the team's starting pitching depth.

It's why the Ryan Weathers trade garnered criticism. It's why the Luis Gil option decision fostered further confusion. It's why using Paul Blackburn in high-leverage on Monday night raised eyebrows despite it just being four games into the campaign.

And now there's validity in all of those concerns because manager Aaron Boone revealed Rodón suffered a setback in his rehab. The left-hander is said to be dealing with hamstring tightness as the team determines the severity (we should know more on Wednesday).

It's nothing against Rodón, it's just the reality of the situation. When there are serious injuries, there's always a high risk of a setback. Thankfully Cole is ahead of schedule, but there was no way both of these situations were going to smoothly get to the finish line. It just doesn't work like that, especially when we are talking Yankees injuries.

And guess what? Even if the severity is minor, this is going to kick Rodón's rehab down the line at least another 10 days. He'll probably get a week off even if it's minor, which means he will have to build back up to where he was before he stopped his throwing.

How does Carlos Rodón's injury setback affect the Yankees' starting rotation?

If Rodón was expected to return by the end of April, you might as well pencil him in for mid-May now because the Yankees will rightfully be extra careful with his progression since they can't afford to lose anymore time.

This means, we can only hope, that Gil spending extra time down at the team's spring training complex needs to pay off. The Yankees optioned him to begin the year to work on his mechanics. They had the luxury of going with a four-man rotation until next weekend due to the plentiful off days throughout the first two weeks of 2026.

If Gil's situation isn't where the Yankees want it to be, then expect Blackburn and/or Ryan Yarbrough to shift into the rotation sooner than expected. In this scenario, they will need to contribute regularly until the end of May. Don't be surprised if Yovanny Cruz or Yerry De Los Santos get called up, either. The Yankees won't be able to hide Cade Winquest that much longer (he has yet to appear in a game).

They cannot continue to use Jake Bird, Brent Headrick, Tim Hill and Camilo Doval as much as they've been. They'll risk early-season burnout like we've seen the past few years. That's why Boone's bullpen decisions on Monday elicited some confusion. And again, with Max Fried giving you seven innings on Tuesday night, why not go to someone like Yarbrough to eat the final two innings and finish it off instead of using Headrick and Hill if you wanted a lefty?

Stay tuned for updates, as we'll be keeping a close eye here.