Yankees’ Carlos Rodon tries out new pitch, makes progress in solid first spring start
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CLEARWATER, Fla. — It won’t take much for Carlos Rodon to have a better spring than last year, but he’s off to a solid start.
After the Yankees’ left-hander only made it through one Grapefruit League outing last spring before his injury troubles began, he appears to be starting off on a better foot this year.
Rodon struck out five over 2 ²/₃ innings Sunday against the Blue Jays, throwing 48 pitches as he began the process of distancing himself from a brutal first season in pinstripes.
“It’s good to see there’s some swing and miss still in my arsenal, and just kind of build off that,” he said.
After a quick first inning, Rodon walked a pair of batters and hit another in the second inning before getting out of the jam with a strikeout.
The last pitch he threw was a cutter — a new addition to his repertoire that he said is “still developing” — in the third inning that Alejandro Kirk hit for a home run.
“Carlos was good,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Stuff-wise was pretty good. Just another important step for him to go out there and have some success and get to that three ups, near 50 pitches. It’s all progress.”
After an offseason in which he got in noticeably better shape, which should allow him to be more consistent with his delivery, Rodon’s fastball averaged 93.6 mph Sunday and topped out at 95.9 mph.
He averaged 95.3 mph on the pitch last season but was slow to get there last spring.
“Thought it was OK,” Rodon said of his velocity. “I wasn’t raring back or anything. Being the first [start], I just wanted to attack the zone, tunnel some pitches, be competitive.”
Ron Marinaccio is noticing the difference of having his legs underneath him.
Feeling healthier after battling the lingering effects of a shin injury last season, Marinaccio is getting better work between outings and felt “really good” in his spring debut Sunday.
He stranded an inherited runner with a strikeout, though he gave up a solo home run and two walks in the next inning. But he liked where his fastball command and velocity were.
“Starting to see a couple 95s [mph] come back, so I think that’s a testament to getting the legs back under me,” he said.
George Lombard Jr. is only 13 games into his professional career, but he has his first Grapefruit League home run under his belt. The 18-year-old shortstop, the Yankees’ first-round pick last summer, came over from minor league camp Sunday to hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Blue Jays.
“Nothing short of amazing, really special,” Lombard said.
Boone has seen Lombard during offseason workouts at the club’s player development complex and came away impressed, particularly with his defense.
“I know player development’s very excited about him,” Boone said. “He’s done a lot of really good things so far and opened a lot of eyes.”
Gerrit Cole threw three innings of live batting practice Sunday and is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Friday at Steinbrenner Field. Nestor Cortes will start Monday and Clarke Schmidt on Tuesday. … Spencer Jones continued his hot start, going 2-for-2 with a walk against the Blue Jays after going 3-for-3 with a home run and a walk Saturday. … Greg Allen saved the Yankees from being no-hit by the Phillies by hitting a one-out single in the eighth inning.
— Additional reporting by Jon Heyman in Tampa
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