Yankees name Carlos Rodón Game 2 starter, take wait and see approach to Game 3

NEW YORK — With Gerrit Cole always an obvious lock to start Game 1 of the ALDS this Saturday, the Yankees announced that Carlos Rodón will take the ball in Game 2 against the Royals on Monday at Yankee Stadium.

While Rodón always had a spot in the club’s ALDS rotation, Aaron Boone previously said the Yankees were weighing whether to have him start Game 2 or 3.

“He’s pitched really well, really the last 10-11 starts for us,” pitching coach Matt Blake said over Zoom on Wednesday. “So we felt good about him in any of the games. Obviously, Gerrit was going to go Game 1. There was some conversation around what makes sense for (Rodón) at home or on the road. Obviously getting him a second start, potentially Game 5, was interesting.”

With Game 3 taking place on the road in Kansas City, the Yankees opted for Rodón to pitch at home, where he enjoyed more success this season. The lefty recorded a 3.11 ERA over 14 starts at Yankee Stadium but a 4.69 mark over 18 road outings.

“It’s going to be really fun,” Rodón said of the postseason after his last start. “We start here in the Bronx; it’s gonna be electric.”

Overall, Rodón enjoyed a bounce-back second season in New York, posting a 3.96 ERA. He led the Yankees with 175 innings and a career-high 32 starts after three injuries limited him to just 14 starts in 2023.

As Blake noted, Rodón was mostly reliable down the stretch, tallying a 2.91 ERA over his last 12 starts.

“Performance-wise, obviously I’d like to be better,” said Rodón, who allowed four earned runs over 2 2/3 postseason innings with the White Sox earlier in his career. “Everyone wants to be better. But I went out there and competed and that was the main thing for me, just to make every start and go out there and compete every time I went out there.”

With the first two games of the ALDS set, Blake made it sound like the Yankees are taking a wait-and-see approach to who will start Game 3. That could change once the Bombers know who their opponent is, but they want to see how the first two games play out.

Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt are the candidates to start Game 3, but either could pitch in relief earlier in the series.

Schmidt, who recorded a rotation-leading 2.85 ERA over 16 starts, has been a reliever in the past. Blake noted that while adding that the righty could fill numerous roles.

“Clarke’s still up in the air for Game 3, amongst a few others,” Blake said. “But if he’s out of the pen for us in Game 1 or 2, I think it’s a Swiss Army Knife option for us that can pitch in a bunch of different situations. Obviously, he’s really developed his arsenal to pitch against lefties a little bit better than he has in the past.

“And he’s got a good mentality for coming out of the pen.”

Gil, on the other hand, has never been a reliever in the majors. His iffy command but high-octane arsenal may be better suited for a start, as the Yankees may be more comfortable giving him a quick hook than asking him to put out a fire.

Blake acknowledged that Gil’s lack of relief experience is “definitely a concern” as the Yankees weigh their Game 3 starting options.

“It’s something we haven’t done with him up to this point,” the coach continued. “So definitely some unknown involved with that, and that’s part of the conversation about why we might use Clarke and him in different roles. Obviously, we know Clarke’s done it in the past, so there’s some definite unknown with what Luis would look like in the pen. Obviously, some really high upside if it does click there. But obviously part of the conversation.”

Gil, a Rookie of the Year contender, finished the season with a 15-7 record, 3.50 ERA and 29 starts.

MOVE FOR MATTINGLY

TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays are moving Don Mattingly back to the position of full-time bench coach after the six-time All-Star also spent the 2024 season as the team’s offensive coordinator.

“He’s excited about that opportunity to impact us and (manager John Schneider) in a different way and a bigger way,” general manager Ross Atkins said Wednesday at his end-of-season news conference. “We think the world of Donnie. He’s been incredible and open-minded to change, as well.”

Atkins said associate manager DeMarlo Hale will remain in his role supporting Schneider in 2025.

However, Atkins said hitting coach Guillermo Martinez, field coordinator Gil Kim and assistant pitching coach Jeff Ware won’t return after the Blue Jays went 74-88 and finished last in the AL East.

The Blue Jays scored 671 runs this season, the 23rd highest total. Arizona led baseball with 886 runs.

Toronto hit 156 home runs, the fifth-lowest total in the majors. The Yankees led baseball with 237 homers.

Atkins said Ware is under contract and will be offered another role in the organization. Kim is not under contract but also will be offered another role. Both are also free to pursue other opportunities, Atkins said.

Martinez is not under contract and will not be back with the Blue Jays.

A former New York Yankees slugger, Mattingly joined Toronto as bench coach in November 2022 after seven seasons with Miami. He won NL Manager of the Year honors with the Marlins in 2020.

Before Miami, Mattingly won three division titles in five seasons as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also worked as hitting coach and bench coach for the Yankees, and as hitting coach of the Dodgers before his managerial stint in Los Angeles.

Mattingly spent his entire 14-year playing career with the Yankees, winning nine Gold Gloves at first base, three Silver Slugger awards, the 1984 AL batting title and the 1985 AL MVP award.