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The New York Yankees shared an injury update on Carlos Rodon.

The New York Yankees shared good news on injured starter Carlos Rodon, with manager Aaron Boone telling reporters that the left-hander will head out on a rehab assignment after a live batting practice session on Saturday, April 18.

Rodon began the season on the injured list after undergoing offseason elbow surgery. He was progressing toward pitching in minor league games, but then he went down with a hamstring issue. The second injury pushed his timeline back. Boone relayed to reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, that Rodon will likely need three rehab starts. The club has been monitoring the hamstring injury, added Boone.

The Yankees are in the midst of a difficult stretch. The team has lost eight of its last 11 games to fall out of first place in the AL East. New York opened the year by sprinting out to a 7-1 record. The squad is now in danger of falling below .500 if they can’t bounce back against the Kansas City Royals this weekend.

New York Yankees Share Injury Update on Carlos Rodon

GettyCarlos Rodon of the New York Yankees began the year on the IL due to elbow surgery.

Rodon was expected to be the first of New York’s injured starters to return to the rotation. Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt also opened the year on the injured list. The pair of righties both underwent Tommy John surgery in 2025. Cole’s procedure occurred in March 2025, which put him on track to return sometime in May or June. He’ll make his first rehab start tonight. Schmidt didn’t have his procedure until the summer. There’s a good chance he’s lost for the entire 2026 season.

The surgery to remove bone spurs from Rodon’s elbow came after the biggest workload of his MLB career. The lefty made a career-high 33 starts in the regular season. He reached 195.1 innings, also a career-high mark. Rodon had never reached 180 frames as a big leaguer. The veteran then tacked on another two starts and 8.1 innings in the postseason. The playoffs went poorly for Rodon, as he was crushed for nine earned runs in the Wild Card round and the American League Divisional Series.

Rodon inked a six-year, $162 million deal with the Yankees ahead of the 2023 campaign. He missed time in his first season with the club, but delivered 32+ starts in each of the last two years. Rodon is making $27.8 million in 2026. On any other team (except maybe the Dodgers), that figure would make him among the highest-paid players on the roster. On the pricey Yankees, Rodon is the fifth-most expensive player this year.

Yankees’ Rotation Struggling After Strong Start

The starting rotation was the story of the season through two weeks. New York went with a four-man approach, and it worked wonders. Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers combined to lead the league in starting pitcher ERA through a couple of turns.

The recent results have been much worse. Luis Gil was added to the mix. He’s been knocked around for seven earned runs over nine innings. Fried, Warren, and Weathers each gave up 4+ runs in their most recent appearances.