NEW YORK — With the Yankees suddenly playing well and searching for their sixth win in a row on Thursday night, Carlos Rodón had a perfect opportunity to wake up from his nightmare season and pitch like the ace he was signed to be.
Instead, the left-hander delivered his worst start of the year, getting booed off the field in a blowout loss to a lowly opponent.
“I got my ass whooped,” Rodón said after the 10-3 loss to the Tigers. “We were on a little roll there with five straight wins. I was trying to put the next one up, showed up and kind of pissed the bed, which was not good.”
Giving up a season-high eight hits and seven runs, Rodón raised his season-long ERA to 6.60. He lasted just 3 2/3 innings, wiping away the momentum he had built over his last few outings.
“I’m not going to make any excuses for my performance tonight; I just wasn’t good and it’s time to be better,” he said. “I haven’t performed very well [this year] and I haven’t performed very much. So it’s been very frustrating and not good.”
His accountability is much appreciated, but it doesn’t hide the fact that Rodón’s first impression with the Yankees — after signing a $162 million deal over six years in free agency — has been an utter disaster, enough to be one of this club’s biggest question marks heading into 2024.
When the Yankees agreed to terms with Rodón last winter, they were seemingly adding another No. 1 to their starting rotation. The lefty was coming off back-to-back impressive seasons. His fastball was one of the best pitches in baseball.
That pitcher has been nowhere to be found in pinstripes this season. He’s either been on the injured list and absent or a total shell of that old self when on the mound.
