Carlos Rodonwill be the Yankees’ Opening Day starter, manager Aaron Boone announced on Friday.
Rodon is set to face-off with Freddy Peralta and the Milwaukee Brewers on March 27 at Yankee Stadium.
“Really excited to give him the ball,” Boone told reporters including Erik Boland of Newsday. “He’s in the right frame of mind and throwing the ball well right now. He’s excited to do it, and then at the end of the day, it’s just the first one.”
This will be the southpaw’s first Opening Day start since joining the Yankees on a six-year deal two seasons ago, but it is the second of his big-league career — the first of which came back in 2019 with the Chicago White Sox.
Rodon battled injuries and struggled mightily during his first season in the Bronx — he pitched better last year but still put together a bit of an up-and-down campaign, posting a 3.96 ERA across a career-high 32 appearances.
New York would’ve turned to ace Gerritt Cole for the fifth time in his career if he were healthy, but with the righty set to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire season, they’ll look for Rodon to get them started on a high note.
Newly signed left-hander Max Fried was also an potential option to start the opener, but the Yanks didn’t want to throw him off his schedule, so he will take the ball for the second game of the season as planned.
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