Yankees Flip the Script: Rodon Activated, Starting Tuesday in Baltimore

NEW YORK — Carlos Rodon is done waiting. The Yankees left-hander is officially off the injured list and will start Tuesday night in Baltimore — a full-on about-face from the original plan.

Just a day earlier, the Yankees said Rodon would make another minor league start. Nope. Scrap that. Instead, the big lefty is heading straight to Camden Yards for a showdown with the Orioles.

HE'S NO LONGER ON THE SHELF

Rodon has been sidelined since July 3 with left elbow inflammation. The IL stint was messy: multiple injections, including PRP, and a slow grind back. He made two minor league rehab starts this month — one at Triple-A, one at Double-A Somerset. In his opener for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 11, he threw 29 of 48 pitches for strikes. The line? Three runs on three hits over 2⅔ innings against Rochester, with four punchouts and two free passes.

Not exactly razor sharp. But the Yankees clearly believe he's got enough to compete in a playoff race.

BACK TO A ROTATION WITH TEETH

Rodon slides back into a starting five that now features Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers. That's a serious unit.

Before the elbow flared up, Rodon was dealing. In his last six starts before hitting the IL, he was 4-0 with a 2.97 ERA. Overall this season in nine starts: 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA. Sure, his first three starts out of the gate were rough — command was nowhere to be found — but the north-south stuff eventually showed up.

THE COMEBACK TRAIL'S BEEN A DOOZY

This isn't just an injury blip. Rodon went under the knife on Oct. 15 to remove loose bodies in his left elbow and shave down a bone spur. Then, in late March, he felt tightness in his right hamstring while throwing at the team's complex in Florida. That cost him the first month of the season entirely.

The 32-year-old is in the fourth year of a six-year, $162 million deal. He was 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA last season, and since becoming a Yankee, he's gone 41-28 with a 3.93 ERA in 88 starts.

Now he gets the ball in Baltimore. The Yankees made a statement. Time for Rodon to deliver one.