Yankees prospect gave Red Sox a taste of what they lost in dazzling WBC start

The New York Yankees' ideal playoff rotation in 2026 does not include a dip into the upper levels of their farm, where Elmer Rodriguez, Ben Hess, and Carlos Lagrange reside. But the best-laid plans of the 2025 team didn't involve Cam Schlittler, either, and he found himself in a deciding postseason game against the Boston Red Sox, making history with every fastball.

Could Rodriguez be this year's unexpected postseason savior? If so, handling business against the team that flipped him for catcher Carlos Narvaez in an overlooked deal last winter that has quickly become a headline-grabber, would be even more apropos than Schlittler, Boston's boy, having a rivalry laugh.

Rodriguez got the start for Puerto Rico in a WBC exhibition against the Red Sox — who else? — on Tuesday night.

The outing continued his ascent, parlaying a 2025 breakout that every Sox fan tried to downplay by screaming, "NARVAEZ!" into a 2026 reality that Bostonians may not be able to ignore. There might be no "winning" of this trade on paper, but whoever has the last playoff laugh will certainly be able to crow about victory.

Yankees' Elmer Rodriguez just passed another Red Sox-sized hurdle en route to MLB debut

If you were understandably skittish about the Yankees' offseason rotation approach (shirking Tatsuya Imai, avoiding any potential avenue to a high-upside No. 2), watching Rodriguez this spring — and Ben Hess, and Carlos Lagrange — should've assuaged you a bit. The bullpen plan? That's still a work in progress. But the Yankees' rotation depth below the Ryan Yarbrough/Paul Blackburn tier is big-league ready enough to justify what they had in mind.

Rodriguez, whose stuff won't leave anyone agog, but who harnesses the totality of his arsenal better than any young pitcher in the system, carved up a big-league lineup (and a rival that sent him packing) with his nationality across his chest on Tuesday. Were there certain names missing? Sure. Roman Anthony was busy teeing off in Scottsdale, hitting a sky-high moonshot that registered as a Russian satellite on certain radar systems. But this was a group fronted by Kristian Campbell, Trevor Story, Marcelo Mayer, and Caleb Durbin. It was a roster without Narvaez, scratched with back spasms. And, for good measure, the opposing pitcher was Jake Bennett, an arm the Red Sox handpicked from the Nationals system this winter in an oddball prospect-for-prospect trade. They felt they knew exactly how to maximize him.

Rodriguez was expendable, though.

Three innings. One hit. Two walks. Two strikeouts. The guy they clearly felt was good-not-great, expended in a move for a Yankees third-string catcher turned sturdy figure with "captain" aura (in certain corners of the Red Sox internet). There's something to be said for trading from a strength. But there's also something to be said for who you're willing to sacrifice. You don't give up the ones you truly believe will eventually torment you. You certainly don't give them up to the New York Yankees.

"We're going to have to deal with him at one point in his career," Alex Cora said after Tuesday's showing. Get used to it. The time is now. And Rodriguez's rock-steady demeanor may not show it, but he probably read the braggadocious Narvaez takes last season.