The Good, the Bad and the Ugly From Carlos Rodón's Yankees Return

Carlos Rodón's highly anticipated 2026 debut finally came on Sunday for the Yankees. Things started on a good note, as the Brewers went hitless over their first innings against Rodón. His velocity was higher than where he had last left things, and his off-speed arsenal looked good.

But the bottom of the fourth is when the wheels started to fall off and paved the way for an early exit by the three-time All-Star. Let's take a look what went well and what didn't on Mother's Day for Rodón.

The Good From Rodón's 2026 Debut

There is no denying the time off following his elbow injury appears to have helped Rodón get to a better place physically. This was made abundantly clear by his improved velocity, which had fallen off during his injury struggles.

On Sunday, Rodón came out firing with a fastball that touched as high as 97.7 MPH in the first inning; he registered 97.3 and 96 on the gun as well, plus a pair of 94-MPH sinkers. This is the hardest he's thrown in a game since July 2025, according to Empire Sports Media's Ryan Garcia, which just highlights how much he was affected by the pain in his elbow that he played through last season.

The Brewers' early struggles reflected how good Rodón was when he was firing on Sunday, too. The five times Milwaukee made contact over the first three innings all resulted in groundouts, showing how much he had them fooled and the tougher swings he was forcing them into.

It was nice to see Rodón work himself out of early trouble on Mother's Day as well. He began the game by walking the opening batter, but settled down with back-to-back strikeouts after the Brewers sacrificed to get a runner on second. He used his dangerous slider to put away the heart of the lineup, allowing him a chance to build up some confidence in one of his best pitches as he works off some rust in his return to the majors.

The Not-So-Good

The jump in velocity was a welcomed sight for Rodón, but it also needs to come with control. That 97.7-MPH fastball he threw was way outside and clinched the inning-opening walk for Jackson Chourio, who could've made the Yankees starter pay after he got to second with just one out.

Rodón also began the second inning with a walk, though he avoided any trouble. That wasn't the case when the same scenario played out in the fourth, however.

The 33-year-old began this game-changing inning with eight straight balls. He broke the streak with a lone strike before plunking Andrew Vaughn.

A sac fly then gave Milwaukee its first run, but Rodón kept spiraling, as his wild pitch allowed runners to move to second and third. This was incredibly costly, as Rodón threw a juicy changeup that Blake Perkins -- who entered this contest hitting a dismal .106 -- sent to center field for a two-run single.

In all, the Brewers scored three runs with just one hit, and that's a direct result of Rodón's sloppy execution. He flirted with trouble throughout the early part of the game, and though it didn't catch up initially, the stage was fully set for Milwaukee to eventually pounce on the opportunity given how good it is a fundamental baseball.

Rodón failed to shrug off that blow in the fourth and again wasn't at his best in the fifth. A single and another walk gave the Brew Crew runners at first and second with one out before he was pulled in favor of Jake Bird. The reliever did get out of the jam, luckily, but Rodón failing to last long during the afternoon put further pressure on an already thin bullpen from this series.

The Ugly Side of Rodón's Yankees Return

Now, it's unrealistic to ask Rodón to be at his absolute best after last taking the mound in October. And even though he's had rehab stints to get back in the swing of things, it's still not the same as performing well in the majors.

But, this kind of inconsistency is also something that has plagued Rodón throughout his Yankees tenure. There was his disaster of a 2023 season, followed by a 2024 that didn't see him perform quite up to the standards of an ace. He did return to form in 2025, but the last image he left the club with was giving up six runs to the Blue Jays in the ALDS, which was preceded by three runs against Boston to open the playoffs.

It remains to be seen if Rodón will be the kind of shot in the arm many are hoping he'll be for a team that looks like a possible AL pennant winner, or if he'll settle back in as just an option for a starting lineup that's gotten better in his absence.

It'd be a massive problem if the team feels like it's worth debating whether they're better off with Ryan Weathers or Will Warren considering how much Rodón is being paid to be a fixture of their rotation.

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