Opening Day for the Yankees is March 30, but New York will be shorthanded in its first game at Yankee Stadium.
General manager Brian Cashman told reporters Thursday that Carlos Rodón, Tommy Kahnle and Lou Trivino will start the season on the injured list, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
Rodón will not get the opportunity to pitch against his former team, the San Francisco Giants, due to a left forearm strain. Cashman said “in a perfect world,” the southpaw could return sometime in April, according to Hoch. Kahnle and Trivino will be out due to bicep tendinitis and an elbow ligament strain, respectively.
The news comes as Frankie Montas is expected to miss a significant amount of time due to offseason shoulder surgery, but the 29-year-old right-handed pitcher expressed optimism he will play in the 2023 Major League Baseball season.
Rodón was expected to add to an impressive pitching staff on paper that included Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortés. Cashman did tell reporters the injury was “not serious” and this was something he dealt with last season and didn’t miss any games, according to ESPN’s Marly Rivera.
Despite the optimism, Aaron Judge and the Yankees still face an uphill battle to start the season, and this certainly wasn’t the news manager Aaron Boone would have liked on his birthday.
