Yankees’ Carlos Rodón takes step closer to return from forearm strain

JUPITER, Fla. —Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodón threw off a mound on Thursday, his first bullpen since he was diagnosed with a left forearm strain earlier this month.

The left-hander threw 15 pitches back at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, strictly using his fastball.

“The last few days have been pretty good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before Thursday’s game against the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter. “That’s been encouraging as he’s gotten into his throwing program. How he’s bounced back each day has been good so far.”

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Boone added that Rodón is scheduled to throw another bullpen in the next few days. The big test for the southpaw will be mixing in his other pitches. Rodón first felt discomfort in his forearm while throwing a slider in his first and only Grapefruit League outing, a five-run clunker against the Braves in North Port on March 6.

“Hopefully today goes well and we keep moving,” Boone said.

Even with this progress, Rodón isn’t expected to make his Yankees debut until sometime in May. He’ll need to simulate spring training once he’s ready to face live hitters again, building his pitch count from scratch after a 10-day shutdown. At that point, he’ll go on a rehab assignment.

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Rodón told NJ Advance Media last week that he’s feeling good and trending in the right direction. This strain is in a precarious spot, though. With Rodón’s elbow history — Tommy John surgery back in 2019 — this isn’t the type of injury to mess with, even after Rodón pitched through a similar issue during last season with the Giants.

“It’s one of those things where I’m going to have to build up to be a starter,” Rodon said. “There’s a lot of work just to get to throwing three innings and 50 pitches. It sucks. As a starter it takes time.”