NEW YORK — Elmer Rodriguez is back in the Yankees rotation. The window he has been given, though, is an unfavorable and tiny one.
The Yankees recalled Rodriguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday after placing left-hander Max Fried on the 15-day injured list with a bone bruise in his left elbow. Rodriguez will start Sunday’s Subway Series finale against the Mets at Citi Field. It will be his third major league appearance as a starter.
The opportunity is real. But the clock counting down on it.
Rodriguez has a window of one or two starts, maybe three at most, to make his case. The margin is small. The opportunity, though, is still real.
Rodriguez recalled as Fried replacement
Fried is on the 10-day IL after a bone bruise was confirmed Thursday. His UCL is intact. No surgery is needed. Further imaging will follow in a few weeks or when he is asymptomatic.
Rodriguez steps directly into the Yankees’ rotation spot vacated by Fried. Ryan Weathers, who had been scheduled to start Sunday, was pushed back to Monday against the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. Will Warren follows on Tuesday.
This is Rodriguez’s second stint with the Yankees this season. He was called up earlier after Luis Gil was demoted to Triple-A and made two starts before being sent back down when Carlos Rodon returned from his own injured list stint.
In those two starts, Rodriguez allowed five runs across 8 2/3 combined innings. Not impressive. Not a disaster. Enough to stay in the Yankees’ plans while he developed further at Triple-A.
What Rodriguez did at Triple-A before the recall
Rodriguez did not sit idle after being sent down by the Yankees. He made five starts for the RailRiders, posting a 1.38 ERA with 26 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP across 26 innings. That is a dominant stretch by any standard. It is the clearest reason the Yankees brought him back rather than turning elsewhere.
He was not just holding a spot in Scranton. He was pitching like a starter worth a second look.
Rodriguez was acquired from Boston in December 2024, part of the trade that sent catcher Carlos Narvaez to the Red Sox. In 2025, he posted a 2.58 ERA with 176 strikeouts across 150 innings at three minor league levels. That track record is why the Yankees brought him back.
Cole’s rehab start Saturday raised the stakes further
While Rodriguez was being recalled in New York, Cole was reinforcing from Scranton exactly how close his own Yankees return is.
Gerrit Cole made his sixth rehab start Saturday. Boone said Friday that Cole likely needs just one more minor league start. That puts his return roughly one to two weeks away.
Cole threw 86 pitches over 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk. His fastball peaked at 99.6 mph and averaged 97. Fifty-six of 86 pitches were strikes. It was his sixth minor league start and first at Triple-A, coming after appearances at High-A Hudson Valley, Double-A Somerset and now Scranton. He carries a 4.71 ERA across 28 2/3 rehab innings with 28 strikeouts and three walks.
Saturday marked the 30th day of Cole’s rehab assignment. That is the normal maximum for pitchers coming off the IL. However, pitchers recovering specifically from Tommy John surgery can receive three consecutive 10-day extensions. That means the Yankees can extend Cole’s rehab if needed, giving him and the organization the flexibility to time his return properly rather than rushing it.
Boone said Friday that Cole would likely make one more minor league start before coming back to the Yankees. If that holds, Cole’s return falls somewhere around May 27. Rodriguez starts Sunday. The Yankees then run Weathers and Warren before Rodriguez would come up again. By the time a third Rodriguez start rolls around, Cole may already be in the Yankees rotation.
What the Yankees rotation looks like right now
The Yankees’ current rotation, with Fried on the IL and Cole not yet back, consists of Rodriguez, Cam Schlittler, Carlos Rodon, Ryan Weathers and Will Warren.
Schlittler has been the story of the Yankees’ season. He carries a 1.35 ERA through 10 starts and leads the AL in that category. He dominated the Mets in Friday’s Subway Series opener, allowing one run on two hits with nine strikeouts across 6 2/3 innings.
Rodon returned from the IL but struggled Saturday, walking three and throwing a costly wild pitch in a 6-3 Mets loss. Weathers and Warren have been solid. Rodriguez enters as a bridge starter. His job is to eat innings until Cole is back.
The Yankees are 28-18. They sit second in the AL East behind the Tampa Bay Rays. The rotation as it stands has carried them this far. Rodriguez’s job is to make sure it does not slip while the biggest piece is being finished.
He has one start on Sunday to make a first impression on his second chance. It comes against a Mets team that just beat the Yankees 6-3 in the Subway Series. The Mets are desperate for wins and will not give anything away easily. Rodriguez needs to be ready from the first pitch.
Cole is watching from Triple-A. The clock is already running.
What do you think?
