Carlos Rodon is doing everything in his power to return to All-Star form - and this includes a new weapon in his arsenal.
After a brutal first season with the New York Yankees that was hampered by injuries and poor performance, Rodon has been evaluating what went wrong on the mound. In his spring training start against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, he revealed one of his efforts to help in bouncing back - a third pitch, specifically a cutter.
Some of his pitches that day had velocity and movement that was in between that of his traditional four-seam and slider, which is the primary characteristic of the cut fastball. When asked about his use of the cutter by Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Rodon said he has been talking with team ace Gerrit Cole and his cutter, which assisted him in the second half of the season. Cole is coming off a Cy Young-winning season, so it makes sense for Rodon to look for tips from him.
Strangely, Rodon's pitching style and pitch movement were similar to that of his All-Star seasons in 2021 and 2022, that being a fastball-slider combo to strike out batters. With the development of a third pitch, this indicates that Rodon found the root of his 2023 struggles: he lost his deception and became predictable.
Naturally, this isn't Rodon's only effort towards improving the deception of his pitches. Pitching coach Matt Blake has been helping the southpaw refine his pitching mechanics, most notably regarding his stride when delivering a pitch. There's also no guarantee that Rodon will continue to use the cutter during the regular season, especially if his improved mechanics allow his fastball-slider combo to be effective once again.
Nonetheless, Rodon's addition of a third pitch in his arsenal can go a long way towards rediscovering what made him a great pitcher, as having more options to throw to opposing batters will make him more unpredictable and effective.
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