NEW YORK — The New York Yankees revealed on Thursday that they’ll be without two key contributors, starting pitcher Carlos Rodón and shortstop Anthony Volpe, to begin their 2026 season.
Rodón’s average fastball velocity dropped nearly 2 mph from 2024 to 2025, and the Yankees may have uncovered the reason why.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced at the club’s postmortem news conference that Rodón underwent a scope of his left elbow on Wednesday to remove some loose bodies and to shave down a bone spur. Rodón won’t be able to throw for the next eight weeks. Factoring in his throwing program to ramp up into a starting pitcher’s workload, he won’t be ready for Opening Day.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Rodón will start the season on the injured list, and the hope is he’s ready at some point in April or early May, as long as the left-hander doesn’t experience any setbacks with his recovery.
The Yankees will already be without Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt to begin the year, as both continue recovering from elbow surgery. The Yankees hope Cole can be ready to pitch in the big leagues “not too far” after Opening Day. Schmidt will not be an option for the rotation for the Yankees until the second half of the season, if all goes well when he begins his throwing program in December.
That means the Yankees’ Opening Day rotation, as it stands now, consists of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren, and a player to be named later. The Yankees have yet to hold their pro scouting meetings, where they begin to shape their offseason outlook and plans for roster construction. Cashman did not provide an answer when asked if Rodón’s injury meant the Yankees would have to go to the marketplace for another starting pitcher.
“I don’t know what that means to where we put our remaining resources in and how we reinforce?” Cashman said. “Do we have enough from within? Do we have to go outside to augment? You can never have enough pitching. So I don’t know. The good thing is he’s coming back. I have to make sure there’s room on the roster when he does.”
That last sentence could mean the Yankees decide to have one of their minor leaguers with options begin the year in the rotation. Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz is a top-100 prospect, but he’s only made one start in Triple A. Ben Hess made seven starts in Double A. Bryce Cunningham finished the season with High-A Hudson Valley. Chase Hampton underwent Tommy John surgery in February. Brendan Beck, who’s not considered a top prospect, might be the closest internal option who could be in the big leagues. Beck is Rule-5 eligible this offseason, so the Yankees would either have to put him on the 40-man roster or risk him getting selected in the Rule 5 draft.
The Yankees could also decide that signing a starter to a one-year deal would be the best way to replace Rodón in the interim. Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn are free agents and have experience as starters and relievers. Blackburn was used exclusively out of the bullpen with the Yankees and did have some success after the club tweaked his arsenal.
They could also decide that the best way to use the pitching depth they have throughout their organization is by cashing in on a trade. Minnesota’s Joe Ryan and Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, if the Tigers don’t agree to an extension this offseason, could be popular trade targets.
There’s less intrigue about what the Yankees might do at the shortstop position, even with there being an opening for the starting position. Volpe underwent a left shoulder arthroscopic labral repair on Tuesday. He won’t be able to hit for four months, and he won’t be able to dive on his shoulder for six months. The hope is Volpe could start a rehab assignment in the minor leagues come Opening Day.
Anthony Volpe went 5-for-26 with 16 strikeouts during the postseason. (Mark Blinch / Getty Images)
That leaves José Caballero and Oswaldo Cabrera as the internal options who could start at shortstop to begin the season. In 126 games with the Tampa Bay Rays and Yankees this season, Caballero finished with a 97 wRC+, an improvement over Volpe’s 83 wRC+, and led MLB with 49 stolen bases. Caballero also finished with five outs above average at shortstop, which was tied for 10th in the big leagues.
Cashman and Boone were less definitive than they’ve been in the past on whether or not Volpe will be the unquestioned shortstop when he returns from injury, but they don’t view it as a positive to go into spring training with the position being unresolved.
“Somebody will be playing shortstop, not (Volpe) on Opening Day,” Cashman said. “That’s not a good thing for us either. I think missing him and not having him as an option for us is a problem. I am looking forward to getting a fixed Anthony Volpe back so he could be deployed and help us win games.”
Cashman said he still believes in Volpe long-term. And after thinking that his shoulder wasn’t impacting his performance much throughout the season, the general manager now believes it was a cause for his shortstop struggling both offensively and defensively, noting that the “clean-up was more severe.”
“I personally think now, starting to lean more into, that yes, it was affecting him, because ultimately he had to have surgery,” Cashman said. “None of that was ever on the table in-season, but I think all things can be true. Was it bothering him to a level that was getting to a height of concern for us? In season, the answer is no. Why is that? The player says it wasn’t bothering him at that point. His physical testing was coming back strong. We did an MRI that showed some old stuff in there.“
Cashman later added: “I think the injury probably contributed to the performance season that he would end up having more than we would have thought based on our intimate involvement with him and our medical staff and how that played out. The facts are the facts; he had to have a surgery that’s going to take him down.”
The Yankees did get good news on Aaron Judge, whose elbow doesn’t require surgery. Judge missed time with a flexor strain and still wasn’t throwing at his usual level at the end of the season. Boone said Judge “showed continued improvement in the flexor muscle” and that he’ll take some time off and continue strengthening his elbow and rehabbing it.
Giancarlo Stanton also doesn’t require any procedures to treat his double tennis elbow that forced the start of his season to be delayed. Stanton will continue treating his elbows over the offseason with rest and rehab.
With Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver, among others, set to become free agents, now combined with delayed seasons for Rodón and Volpe, it could be a busy offseason for the Yankees as they try to end their 16-year drought without a title.