KANSAS CITY, Mo. — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone poked his head around the bank of lockers in the visitor’s clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium. He appeared to make eye contact with starting pitcher Carlos Rodón, who then followed Boone into his office and closed the door. The pair didn’t emerge before reporters finished postgame interviews.
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Rodón got shelled by the Kansas City Royals, giving up eight runs without getting a single out in a 12-5 loss Friday night. He allowed a home run, two walks and six hits, but none of the game action was as hard to watch for the Yankees as when the left-hander turned his back on pitching coach Matt Blake during a mound visit in the midst of the meltdown.
Rodón owned up to the diss.
“Really embarrassing and then doing that with Matt coming out trying to help me, I turned my back,” he told reporters. “I was not in the right mind. That’s on me.”
As of midnight Central Time, Blake and Rodón hadn’t yet spoken about the incident, according to the pitching coach.
“I understand we all have jobs to do,” Blake said in a phone interview, “He’s frustrated. That’s a big part of it. There’s a remorseful side and an apologetic side to it but you can’t act like that.”
Blake added that he didn’t interpret it as a “personal attack” from the pitcher.
Carlos Rodon turning his back to Matt Blake and gesturing him to go back to the dugout while Blake was trying to talk to him was certainly something pic.twitter.com/HO5RirjenD
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) September 30, 2023
Rodón gave up a two-run double to Salvador Perez and Edward Olivares immediately followed with a two-run homer. Then after back-to-back singles, Blake called time out and went out to talk to Rodón. When Blake reached the mound, Rodón appeared to wave his glove in the direction of Blake and turned away from him.
Boone was asked if he felt the move was disrespectful.
“I’ve got to get into it a little more but that was my first take,” the manager said. “I want to hear everything around it.”
After the visit, Rodón gave up an RBI single, allowed an embarrassing stolen base in which Nick Loftin didn’t even wait for Rodón to deliver the pitch before he motored to third, and then he walked his final batter.
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That was when Boone pulled him from the game. As Boone walked to the mound, Rodón gestured at him, and appeared to mouth, “Wow,” as he walked to the dugout.
“We want better mound presence there,” Boone said, “but also the guy is competing his ass off. It’s been a tough year for him and he’s trying to figure it out. He wants to do well. There’s also some grace. It’s hard. It’s heavy.”
The implosion meant the end of a terrible first season for Rodón, who finished with a 3-8 record and a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts. Rodón spent nearly 2 1/2 months on the injured list battling a forearm strain, a chronic back issue and a hamstring strain. The Yankees had given him a six-year, $162-million deal in the offseason hoping that he would be the No. 2 to ace Gerrit Cole.
Rodón’s previous most embarrassing moment of the season came when he blew a kiss at heckling fans in July. Then Friday happened.
“You wish it would have gone better when you’re out there,” Blake said, “but you understand why things go sideways sometimes and obviously we can’t have that happen again.”
Surprised that happened?
It’s inexplicable. It’s not every day you see a player show up his coach that publicly, but that’s what Rodón did in what was obviously a performance that had already gone haywire. Frustration is understandable, especially given how poor Rodón was not only in this game but his entire season. But part of being a professional in any job is handling adversity and keeping your emotions in check, which is not what happened in this situation. Pitching poorly is not a valid excuse for the action. — Kirschner
That was bad. And it came at such a bad time. It happened at the end of a poor debut season from Rodón, and as the Yankees had just three games remaining in a disappointing campaign in which they were eliminated from playoff contention Sunday. The Yankees didn’t need this distraction. They could have played out the games left on their schedule quietly and without incident. Instead, Boone needed a closed-door meeting with his underperforming star pitcher. — Kuty
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Was Rodón’s explanation sufficient?
Rodón said it wasn’t “the best move and it shouldn’t happen.” There’s not much more to add than realizing it was a mistake. Rodón is as intense as anyone the Yankees employ, and his emotions have been on display on a couple of occasions now. The fiery passion Rodón brings would likely be appreciated by the fan base if he was pitching well but when someone has a 6.85 ERA, most fans are going to roll their eyes. — Kirschner
Like Blake said, you almost understand Rodón’s actions. It was the lowest point of the worst season of Rodón’s career. The expectations on him have been high and he hasn’t met them. He probably felt everything crumbling around him and lashed out. But at the same time, he’s paid to be a professional, and you expect to see something like that on a high school field, not in the majors. — Kuty
What do you make of Rodón’s season?
It was a downright awful year for Rodón. There’s not much reason for optimism heading into 2024 given how horrible he was. There were a few solid outings but it was mostly a feeling of dread every fifth day when he took the ball. There was never one moment with Rodón this season where anyone should have expected greatness when he was pitching, which was the opposite feeling of Cole’s season. The Yankees have no choice but to hope for better results. But right now, he’s trending towards being forever linked with Carl Pavano in Yankees lore. — Kirschner
You’re right, Chris. Everyone thought things couldn’t have gone worse for Rodón before his final start of the season on Friday. Everyone was wrong. Earlier this week, Rodón told The Athletic that he knew that he hadn’t lived up to his paycheck yet. “We all know the Yankees invested a considerable amount of money in me,” he said, “and I’ve got to prove my worth.” Rodón set himself back farther than anyone imagined with his pitching and with his actions Friday. — Kuty
(Photo of Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón waiting to be removed during the first inning against the Royals: Colin E. Braley / Associated Press)
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