Carlos Rodon Named Yankees MLB Opening Day Starter vs. Brewers amid Gerrit Cole Injury

The New York Yankees have their opening day starter.

Manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Friday that left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon will be the team's opening day starter for the season opener against the Milwaukee Brewers.

This comes after ace pitcher Gerrit Cole went down for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

This move comes as a slight surprise given the presence of southpaw Max Fried. The Yankees signed Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract in free agency and it looked like he would slot in under Cole in the Yankees rotation.

Still, the Yankees could be choosing to ease Fried into his new situation and Rodon is a very capable option as well. Rodon went 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA in 175 innings in 2024. He himself was a splashy signing ahead of the 2023 season and is a solid option for the ace role.

The Yankees are coming off of a 94-68 season in which they fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Fried highlights a crop of new faces that will hope to help the team improve even more in 2025 but Rodon will be the one to get the ball to start that quest.