Yankees Injury Update: Carlos Rodon’s X-Ray Results Revealed after Getting Hit with 115 Mph Fastball

The Yankees’ rotation was already in shambles with Luis Gil and Gerrit Cole sidelined this spring. Now, imagine losing their next-best arm. Unthinkable, right? That’s exactly what fans feared when Carlos Rodón took a line drive straight to his forearm last night. The entire stadium held its breath as he was rushed for an X-ray. But here’s the good news—the results are in, and Yankees fans can finally exhale.

The Yankees’ steamrolling start this season came to a halt with a 4-3 loss against the D-Backs yesterday. The pitching excellence of D-Backs’ ace Zac Gallen silenced the Yankees’ hyped offense. While the loss is concerning for the fans and management, the greater worry was Yankees starter Carlos Rodón, who took a comebacker off his forearm during the top of the 5th inning, with the exit velocity of the line drive listed at 115 mph. The Yankees can afford a loss in a 162-game season, but losing another pitcher is simply not an option.

“Carlos Rodón said X-rays on his forearm came back clean. He took a 115 mph line drive off his right arm.”

MLB insider Chris Kirschner’s update offered a sigh of relief for fans. They should consider it dodging a bullet, figuratively speaking, since Rodón couldn’t avoid the real-life hit. The missile-like line drive came off the bat at 115 mph, fast enough to cause serious injury to his arm. However, Rodón stayed in the game, pitching six innings while allowing four earned runs on three hits and four walks, striking out five.

With Rodón cleared for his next game, the Yankees need to go back to the drawing board after their strong start came to a halt against the Diamondbacks. They still managed three home runs in the game, but a grand slam by Mark Leiter Jr. in the eighth inning was insufficient to overcome a subpar bullpen performance. Yes, the Yankees’ much-hyped offense took a hit yesterday, but let’s be honest. No team wins all 162 games. The real concern is their pitching.

The Yankees’ pitching woes continue 

Since the start of the regular season, the Yankees have been in talks due to their offense. The first week witnessed the hammering of the Brewers by the Yankees. Their torpedo bats took all the limelight but still not enough to cover the devastated pitching lineup.

Gerrit Cole will return by next year and is no longer on the radar for this season. Luis Gil’s dorsal muscle strain will keep him out of action for at least three months. The Yankees GM, Brian Cashman, estimates that he will return “sometime in the summer,” which means the starting rotation will stay vulnerable for now. In 29 starts last season, Gil went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA, with the most strikeouts (171) and walks (77) in 151-2/3 innings. Who will match that?

The Yankees field Marcus Stroman replacing Gil, but Stroman is yet to bring the fire. As of now, he is going with a 5.79 ERA with 3 strikeouts. Not as per what Gil offered last year. Let’s be honest here: the Yankees’ offense, stacked up with torpedo bats, just got halted by Gallen. With more teams set to get their hands on torpedo bats, the Bronx’s pitching lineup is yet to give their most difficult test. For reference, Rodon got 12 strikeouts as of now in his season. In contrast, Gallen just had 13 strikeouts in a single game yesterday. So, could the starting rotation with Max Fried, Rodon, and Stroman deliver going deep into the season? Let some top-tier opponents come and face the Yankees.

Yesterday’s game with the Diamondbacks exposed the vulnerability of the Yankees. While their offense is potent enough to recover, it is their starting rotation that will keep facing the heat.

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