When will Carlos Rodon return to Yankees rotation this season?

New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon was added in the offseason to bolster the bullpen, but his 2023 season will start off on the injured list. The leftie is in his ninth year in the majors and is coming off back-to-back All-Star selections with the San Francisco Giants.

In 2022, Rodon made 22 starts, finishing with a 14-8 record with a 2.88 ERA, 1.028 WHIP, and an MLB-best 2.25 FIP.

Carlos Rodon injury update

July 5 Update — Rodon has been progressing well and hasn’t suffered any further setbacks. Barring anything new coming up, he is projected to come off the IL to start against the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

June 11 Update — Rodon’s latest update came on June 9. He is still progressing well but will throw two more live bullpen sessions before beginning his rehab assignment. If all goes well with no setbacks, Rodon could be back to start July.

June 3 Update — The road to Rodon’s recovery hasn’t always been filled with positive updates. Luckily, and hopefully not to jinx it, Rodon threw a 30-pitch bullpen on Wednesday and has yet to experience any negative setbacks. He could be in line for another bullpen session, or if he feels good enough could jump to live hitters this week.

May 17 Update — Rodon is healed from his forearm injury, but is now trying to recover from a back injury. He has thrown multiple times in the last week and the Yankees are ready to get him back on the mound, it just depends on when he can physically can get back into game action.

April 17 update — At long last, Rodon has finally faced live hitters, throwing a two-inning simulated game on Sunday without any ill effects.

Next up should be live batting practice before setting out on what should be a fairly lengthy rehab assignment as the lefty builds up his arm.

April 11 update — Aaron Boone told reporters on Tuesday that Rodon had been scheduled to throw live BP on Monday but had to push it back due to back tightness he’s apparently been experiencing on top of his elbow injury. Boone didn’t sound too concerned and added that Rodon’s arm is still feeling fine, but did call an April return “a little aggressive”. There’s still no reason to think the lefty won’t be making his debut at some point around May 1, but back injuries are never good to hear.

April 10 update — Rodon has recently resumed throwing breaking balls and is now set to make another big step in his recovery:

Hopefully a rehab assignment will come in a week or two, as the team still has eyes on a late-April return date.

March 29 update — Rodon is battling a forearm strain that he suffered in spring training, but the injury isn’t expected to sideline him for an extended duration. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reported that Rodon threw a bullpen session of about 30 pitches on Monday, which is a promising sign for his eventual return.

Though his specific timeline is unclear, when Rodon was initially injured, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said it would likely push the left-hander back into April. If his debut were to be pushed back to roughly mid-April, that would mark about 15 games or so missed to begin the 2023 year.