After 33 starts and a 3.09 ERA last year, Rodón had elbow surgery in October, missed all of spring, and grinded through three rehab outings before being cleared. Sunday at American Family Field is the day. The Yankees are 26-14 and have dropped 2 in a row for the first time since a 5-game April skid — including a 6-0 dud on Friday and Saturday's brutal 4-3, 10-inning loss where William Contreras walked it off on a sac fly. They'd really like Rodón to look like Rodón.
On the other side, Logan Henderson. The 24-year-old got recalled from Triple-A Nashville last week (where he had a 1.02 ERA) to plug a rotation hole created by Brandon Woodruff's shoulder. His one big-league appearance this year produced a 9.00 ERA, hence the 4.50 line you see now after the official start. Small sample, but the Brewers are leaning on a kid because they have to.
- Day-To-DayTravis MacGregor SP — MacGregor underwent Tommy John surgery last September and will miss the entire 2019 season, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DayRyan Weathers SP — The Yankees placed Weathers on the paternity list Wednesday.
- Day-To-DayBen Hess SP — Double-A Somerset placed Hess on its 7-day injured list April 18 due to an unspecified injury.
- 10-Day-ILJasson Dominguez LF — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Dominguez will miss "a few weeks" after an MRI revealed a low-grade AC joint sprain in his left shoulder, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILGiancarlo Stanton DH — Stanton (calf) has not been cleared to resume running, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
- 15-Day-ILGerrit Cole SP — Cole (elbow) will make his next rehab start with Double-A Somerset Sunday, Casey Drottar of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILAngel Chivilli RP — Manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday that Chivilli (shoulder) will be shut down from throwing for roughly three weeks, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILCarlos Rodon SP — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Rodon (elbow) is likely on track to return from the 15-day injured list to make his season debut Sunday in Milwaukee, Jorge Castillo of ESPN.com reports.
- Day-To-DayGerson Garabito RP — Garabito will be out for four months after undergoing surgery to address a broken bone in his foot, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
- Day-To-DayJ.B. Bukauskas RP — Bukauskas will undergo surgery on his injured right lat and be sidelined for 9-to-10 months, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
- 10-Day-ILBrandon Lockridge LF — Lockridge is expected to get an MRI on his injured right knee once swelling subsides, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILChristian Yelich LF — Yelich (groin) is expected to progress to facing live pitching and running the bases early next week, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILJared Koenig RP — Koenig (elbow) is slated to resume a throwing program Tuesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILBrandon Woodruff SP — Woodruff is tentatively slated to resume throwing Saturday after undergoing a minor procedure Tuesday to drain fluid from his inflamed right shoulder, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILQuinn Priester SP — Priester (wrist) is with the Brewers in St. Louis after being pulled from his rehab assignment due to shoulder soreness, Sophia Minnaert of Brewers.tv reports.
- 15-Day-ILAngel Zerpa RP — Zerpa will undergo UCL reconstruction on his left elbow next week, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Milwaukee's IL is genuinely brutal — Yelich, Woodruff, Priester, Quinn Priester's shoulder issue cropping up on rehab, plus a back-end bullpen that's been chewed up. They're 21-16 anyway and just took the first 2 of this series, so credit where it's due. The Yankees are also patched together: no Stanton, no Dominguez, Cole still rehabbing in Double-A, and Rodón essentially auditioning live.
The market has the Yankees as moderate road favorites, which makes sense on paper — but Rodón throwing his first regular-season pitch since last October against a Brewers lineup that's been swinging it is not a clean -136. Sharp money on Pinnacle is at -124, and the EV picture leans slightly toward the dog. The total at DK is 7.5 with juice to the under at Pinnacle's 8.
The pick-your-poison angle here: do you trust the rust on Rodón, or the inexperience on Henderson? A 1:10 PM CT first pitch, day game after a 10-inning night game, with both bullpens already taxed. Whoever's starter goes deeper probably wins this thing.