Yankees ready to slot Carlos Rodon back into their rotation

Carlos Rodon is scheduled to be activated Tuesday at Baltimore, adding to the Yankees‘ rotation strength.

Will Warren had been scheduled to open the Yankees’ three-game set against the Orioles at Camden Yards, and the right-hander’s fate was not immediately known.

On Monday, the YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits was first to report, via Twitter, that Rodon would be activated from the injured list and start Tuesday.

Rodon, 33, hasn’t started a big-league game since June 28 at Boston, due to left elbow inflammation.

The veteran lefty’s start to 2026 was delayed until May 10, due to his recovery from last October’s procedure to remove loose bodies and a bone spur near his left elbow.

Prior to this latest issue, Rodon was 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA in nine starts.

Rodon made a second minor league rehab start last Friday, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings (58 pitches) while yielding two hits and one walk, with seven strikeouts at Class AA Somerset.

Based on his recent pitch counts, Rodon might be limited to about 65-70 pitches against the Orioles, who occupied the final AL wild card spot entering Monday.

Warren could be on standby to hook-and-ladder Tuesday’s start, though the Yanks have a fresher bullpen coming off Monday’s off day.

Lefty Ryan Weathers seemed to have ended the conversation about whether he or Warren would be dropped from the rotation and transition to a bullpen role.

Weathers has posted a 0.85 ERA over his last five starts, including Sunday’s seven-inning (one run) no-decision in an important extra-inning win at Toronto.

<

Speaking generally last week about potentially transitioning Warren or Weathers to relief, Yanks pitching coach Matt Blake said that optioning one to the minors was a possibility, but that a de-escalation of innings could also happen in the majors.

“It’s the balance of trying to win games at the big-league level, but also preparing guys to handle a different role,” said Blake. “Ultimately, if you get to the postseason, you want to have as many options and flexibility as you can.”

The Yanks also have a makeup doubleheader with Boston coming up Aug. 29, where both Rodon and Warren would be potentially lined up to start.

Rodon now steps back into one of the game’s best rotations, with Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Weathers.

Of course, the Yankees’ daily struggle for runs since mid-June – underscoring the absence of Aaron Judge (rib fracture), who last played May 31 – has burdened a pitching staff that leads MLB with a 3.26 ERA.

As for bringing the starters’ band back, “It’d be nice to have us all pitch together, finally,” Rodon told reporters last Friday at Somerset. “You know those guys are tremendous, and they’ve been great.

“Whenever my name gets called, I’ll be ready and it’ll be good to be back.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Yankees ready to slot Carlos Rodon back into their rotation