NEW YORK — Shortstop Anthony Volpe and left-hander Carlos Rodon, an 18-game winner last season, are not likely to be ready for the start of the 2026 season because of surgeries this month.
Volpe, 24, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder on Tuesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said in his end-of-season press conference Thursday. His recovery time is a minimum of four months and Volpe is not permitted to dive — for fear of impacting the repair of his partially torn labrum — for at least six months.
Rodon, 32, had loose particles removed from his left elbow in addition to the reduction of a bone spur on Wednesday.
“I think they shaved out a bone spur,” Boone said. “He’ll go into an eight week of no throw which probably when you build in all the ramp up and the throwing program into getting him to be a starting pitcher, probably delays him a couple of weeks to start the season but everything went well yesterday.”
Rodon set a career high with 33 starts in 2025, posting a record of 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA. Rodon finished 10th in MLB with 203 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.05.
According to Inside Edge, his batting-average against at home was .154, best in MLB.
His season ended with a rough outing — two walks, a home run and six earned runs in 2 1/3 innings in Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, but New York won 9-6 with eight unanswered runs.
General manager Brian Cashman said last month the Yankees were optimistic about the shortstop position and believed Volpe could avoid offseason surgery.
Volpe fought his shoulder issue the final four months of the season and ended 2025 with a .212 batting average and 19 errors. He struck out 16 of his 26 at-bats in the playoffs. He had multiple cortisone injections during the season in an attempt to play through the injury.
Volpe won the Gold Glove at shortstop in 2023.
New York’s top infield prospect plays the same position, but 20-year-old George Lombard Jr. hit a combined .235 at two levels in the minors in 2025.
Rodon completed his third season with the Yankees and has started over 30 games in three of his past four seasons after a total of 33 between 2019-21 with the Chicago White Sox.
In 231 career games (226 starts) in the regular season, he’s 93-72 with a 3.73 ERA and 1,409 strikeouts.
–Field Level Media
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