Rodon gives up 2 more HRs, lacks zip on fastball
TAMPA, Fla. — Carlos Rodon‘s second Grapefruit League start of 2024 was “a mixed bag” featuring continued experimentation, a lack of zip on his fastball and bookending home runs.
The New York Yankees‘ left-hander gave up three runs on five hits across three-plus innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. He threw 60 pitches.
His first pitch was a fastball launched over the right-center field wall by Yandy Diaz. The 60th pitch was a fastball blasted by Richie Palacios for a two-run home run. Those were in addition to the home run surrendered in his first spring outing and the four given up in a simulated game last week.
“Didn’t really have the fastball velo I wanted, but … it’s one of those days,” Rodon said. “It’s one of those days you got to be able to pitch without a fastball and kind of use some other things.”
Rodon, 31, is looking to rebound from a nightmare first season in New York after signing a six-year, $162 million contract in December 2022. The left-hander, who didn’t make his Yankees debut until July because of a forearm strain, recorded a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts as the team failed to reach the postseason.
This year, he reported to spring training slimmer and without the mustache he sported last season. His pitch arsenal also has looked different.
Rodon has almost exclusively relied on his fastball-slider combination in his career — he threw one of those two pitches 92% of the time in 2022, his best season as a major leaguer — and he doesn’t plan to dramatically alter his usage. But he has been focused on working on his curveball, changeup and a new cutter this spring to have at his disposal when needed.
“On a day like today, where the fastball wasn’t exactly where I wanted it to be, that cutter could come in really handy for early outs,” Rodon said.
Manager Aaron Boone attributed Rodon’s decreased fastball velocity — it averaged 93.2 mph on Wednesday as compared to 95.3 mph last season — to fatigue expected at this point on the calendar.
“He didn’t have great life on his fastball today,” Boone said. “But I felt, really, in between the first and last pitch, I thought he pitched really well. I thought he pitched, which was good to see.”
Rodon acknowledged this spring is also about building up his confidence. Swagger, he said, is a trait he carries on the mound. Last season dented it. Good health, he said, is all it should take to bounce back to become the pitcher the Yankees envisioned when they signed him.
“I just need to stay on the mound,” Rodon said. “That’s it. I’m pretty good at this game.”
Cincinnati Reds left-hander Wade Miley said Friday that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing, one day after reports stated a deposition from a lawsuit alleged he supplied Tyler Skaggs with drugs when both players were with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The deposition is part of a motion for summary judgment filed by the Los Angeles Angels, requesting a lawsuit from the Skaggs family be dismissed.
The deposition from Ryan Hamill, Skaggs’ agent, contains testimony that he was concerned in 2013 about Skaggs’ drug use. Hamill said he and Skaggs’ family confronted Skaggs about his drug use. Skaggs was then in his second season as a teammate of Miley with the Diamondbacks.
“He came clean,” Hamill testified. “He said he had been using — I believe it was Percocets — and he said he got them through Wade Miley.”
Skaggs died on July 1, 2019, at age 27 in a Dallas-area hotel. The autopsy found fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system.
Miley briefly addressed the issue before Friday’s road game against the Detroit Tigers.
“I hate what happened to Tyler, it sucks. My thoughts are with his family and his friends,” Miley said. “But I’m not going to sit here and talk about things that someone might have said about me or whatnot. I was never a witness for any of this. I was never accused of any wrongdoing.”
Former Angels communications director Eric Kay is serving a 22-year prison sentence in Texas after being found guilty on two charges of providing drugs related on Skaggs’ overdose.
The Athletic reported that the criminal proceedings against Kay included a recorded phone conversation in which Kay told his mother that Miley was a drug source to Skaggs.
Asked if Major League Baseball has contacted him regarding the allegations, Miley said, “I’d rather just focus on the Cincinnati Reds right now and baseball and what I have to do moving forward. I’ve got to get ready for a game on Sunday.”
Miley was mentioned in Kay’s criminal case, but he was never charged with a crime.
Skaggs was traded to the Angels after the 2013 season. He went 28-38 with a 4.41 ERA in 96 career starts.
Miley, 38, is with his eighth big league team and attempting to revive his career after Tommy John surgery in 2024.
Miley has a career 109-99 mark with a 4.09 ERA in 319 games (311 starts) since making his major league debut in 2011. This is his second go-round with the Reds. He was with the team in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, going 12-10 with a 3.55 ERA in 177⅓ innings over 34 starts (32 innings).
The Skaggs family is suing the Angels, contending that high-level team officials, as well as other employees, knew Kay was a drug user and should have known he was Skaggs’ source.
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