BALTIMORE — Carlos Rodón has a problem. He knows exactly what it is. He’s articulated it multiple times over the last month.
So why hasn’t he fixed it?
For those in need of a refresher, Rodón’s early-inning, overreliance on his fastball is routinely putting the Yankees behind in games, as batters are hunting the pitch. The lefty, whose second-best offering is a slider, has allowed 15 first-inning runs over his last five starts, which have all resulted in losses.
While Rodón didn’t surrender any such runs against the Reds on July 3 after diversifying his arsenal and sequencing in the opening inning, he generally waited until it was too late in those games. Time after time, he acknowledged that he needed to expand his repertoire and lessen his fastball usage sooner.
“They’ve been getting on some heaters,” Rodón said on July 9 after he gave up four first-inning runs to the Rays, but nothing after that. “We get out there in the second, we start mixing. We mixed changeups, we mixed curveballs. I gotta make that adjustment as the game begins. Just [be] ready to use the whole arsenal from the get-go.”
It was an accurate but broken record response from the veteran, who made similar or related observations on June 21, June 27 and July 3.
With Rodón aware of the issue and making his final start of the first half against the Orioles on Sunday, the Daily News wanted to know what’s keeping the 31-year-old from implementing these changes. Below are a few responses from Rodón, who has a 4.63 ERA over 19 starts, and Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake.
Questions are paraphrased and answers have been edited for clarity and length. Rodón and Blake spoke to The News separately.
DAILY NEWS: Rodón knows what he needs to change. Is it not as simple as just doing it?
Rodón: “When you’re in the game and you’re competing, it’s just rolling. You’re just going and you’re trying to get outs, you’re trying to make pitches. A lot of the time, I just need to slow it down and play the chess games a little bit. Start thinking about how I want to pitch the hitter instead of being a bull in a china shop with fastballs and sliders. I’m just so used to doing that. I’ve had success with it in the past. Over the course of this season, I had a little bit of success with it. Now it’s kind of come back around and they’ve done damage off me with it.”
Blake: “I think it is as simple as doing it, but it’s getting comfortable coming into the game, just being ready to go with your offspeed. Sometimes it’s like wait until he gets punched in the face and all of a sudden, he pivots. But obviously, they’re targeting him, and the sooner we can get to that part of the plan, the better it seems like.”
Rodón noted that he now considers his cutter a “work in progress.” He’d rather allocate his secondary usage to his slider, changeup and curveball.
DN: How hard is it to change what you’ve always done?
CR: “The game has evolved. These guys hit velocity now. They know how to get to fastballs up in the zone. They train for that. They train for me specifically. They attack the tendencies I use, like how often I use a fastball and where I throw it, how often I use the slider and where I throw it. So I have to make the adjustment myself, and I may need to make it faster to be successful and give my team a chance to win.”
DN: Rodón’s fastball has always been good. It got him paid. Is pride a factor in not wanting to use it less?
CR: “I really like throwing fastballs. I do, but that’s starting to hurt me now. There’s definitely some pride in throwing a hard fastball. But to make the fastball better, I have to change the usage and use other pitches so it disguises it.”
MB: “Maybe originally. I don’t think so any more. I think it’s just general feel and rhythm of your delivery and getting into the flow of the game.”
As a few have pointed out – the loss was in fact on Carlos Rodon (4IP 5H 4ER 2BB 5K), however, the @Yankees pitcher’s fastball, which he threw nearly 50% of the time, graded out very well averaging nearly 95 MPH with 9″ of horizontal break winning our SP Pitch of the Day July 9th pic.twitter.com/EsFNv6aADk
— Baseball Prospectus (@baseballpro) July 10, 2024
DN: What about fear or a lack of trust factoring in? Rodón is essentially being tasked with throwing his best pitch less and lesser pitches more.
CR: “Yeah, I mean, it’s a different way of pitching for me. Using a complete repertoire, it’s truly pitching. It’s the art of pitching. It’s what we do. It’s what I’m paid to do. Do I believe I can do it? Yeah, I do. I’ve shown I can do it. Now I have to implement it sooner.”
MB: “I’m sure there’s a component of that. This style of pitching is a little different than the ways he’s historically operated. So there’s probably a little bit of uncomfortableness, a little uncertainty of just how aggressive to be with the secondary, how far to get away from the fastball at times. It just takes a little bit of time to understand where the avenues are and how to read the situation as guys come out and attack him.”
DN: Are any pitch sequences scripted at the start of games?
MB: “Not really. We obviously talk about who the hitters are and maybe what our options are to each hitter. Then it’s really up to the pitchers.”
DN: Rodón has appeared frustrated at times, yelling at assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel and frustratingly tapping on an iPad, among other moments. Is there any tension between him and the pitching department over game-planning?
CR: “No. It’s something, as a group, we talk about before the game starts. I feel like our staff puts a lot of time and effort into what they present to me. I look at stuff myself and I trust Desi and Matt and everyone on our side with the information and scouting reports they come to me with.
“Ultimately, I’m the one throwing the pitch. My catchers do a great job. They do a lot of homework, and I trust in them. It’s me making some better decisions. There’s times where I’ve voiced that I like throwing fastballs up. I do. My catchers know. They want me to feel comfortable. They know I like going to fastballs and sliders. I set that precedent. I have to be comfortable with throwing any pitch at any time.
“I have a great relationship with Desi, for sure. A really close relationship with Desi. We talk every day. We talk about everything, not just baseball.”
MB: “I don’t think so. I think anytime we’re out there in competition, he’s revved up and it’s the heat of the moment. Him and Desi have as good a relationship as any staff member in here. They spend a lot of time working together. So as far as I’m concerned, there’s no issue there. It’s just knowing who he is. There’s a component of the emotional aspect that we’re always trying to rein in and just get to a good, neutral spot.”
Carlos Rodón showing some frustration during a conversation with a coach pic.twitter.com/6MCB8f4V95
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 21, 2024
DN: The fastball is still grading well. Why hasn’t it been effective?
MB: “That’s the multimillion-dollar question. The profile is as good as it’s ever been. The velo is the same. It’s still generating miss. It’s just when they’ve hit it, they’ve done damage on it.”
DN: Is it safe to say the mix and sequencing will look different on Sunday?
CR: “I cannot predict the future. All I can do is control what I do. I know I’m gonna go out there and compete, like I do every time. I give it my all, and I’m going to do that. And as soon as the pitch leaves my hand, whatever happens, happens. That’s kind of how I’m gonna look at it.”
DN: But when you change things up after the first inning, do you see it working?
CR: “I do. I see it there. I want to make the adjustment sooner. But you and I can talk until I’m blue in the face and you’re tired of listening to me. So I’m just gonna put it out there on the field.”