Yankees' insanely cursed season continues with worrisome rotation injury

This is what every New York Yankees season is. Every New York Yankees season is like this. The Jeff Passans of the world can guffaw and gloat about how unfair and silly it is that no American League team measures up to the Yankees this year. Meanwhile, the Yankees will simply continue sizzling without any steak, disintegrating, collapsing, and battling a pandemic confined entirely to their locker room.

One day after the Yankees were somehow defeated by an off day, absorbing a Carlos Lagrange injury blow on a scheduled break, they announced a good news/bad news roster shuffle before their opening contest with the Twins. The bad news far outweighed the good, which is crazy, because Jeff Passan told me that never happens.

Ryan McMahon, who missed his rehab game with food poisoning, will return without any minor-league action, while Trent Grisham (one game of rehab) will join him in the action. On the way out? Oswaldo Cabrera, as well as ... Carlos Rodón, who's apparently suffering from left elbow inflammation! Never a dull moment.

Well, plenty of dull moments, actually, but they're only dull because of how repetitively and predictably frustrating they are.

Saturday's scheduled starter, you may ask? Why, it's still Carlos Rodón, of course!

How will Yankees recover from Carlos Rodón injury blow?

It won't be easy. A rotation that was once an embarrassment of riches - remember the "Do they even need Tarik Skubal?" talk? - now consists of Gerrit Cole ramping his way up from Tommy John surgery, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers hitting walls, and Cam Schlittler (coming off a perplexingly bad game against the Tigers). Elmer Rodríguez last pitched on Thursday, so he isn't even an option! Perhaps a Brendan Beck start (last pitched June 27)? Or a complete forfeiture?

The Yankees will now attempt to end their seven-game losing streak on Friday night vs. Minnesota, and will then throw a spot starter on Saturday and face Joe Ryan on Sunday (opposed by Weathers). Rodón's final healthy start was a one-hitter against the Red Sox with only one hiccup (they lost, as you recall).

Rodón's offseason cleanup surgery, intended to address the issue in his elbow, may have left him lacking strength in the region. The Yankees can't afford to rush Max Fried back, but they also can't afford to lose every single day. For yet another season, the on-field play has become secondary drudgery to the team's ever-growing list of hospitalized athletes. One normal year. All we ask. One normal year where even 75%-80% of the roster goes to battle at full strength. Never gonna happen.

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