The New York Yankees already have Max Fried and Cam Schlittler locked in, along with a rotation that’s clearly built to compete. What’s still uncertain is exactly which Carlos Rodon we’ll see once he’s back, and the same goes for Gerrit Cole. But early signs from Rodon’s rehab suggest the outcome could be better than most anticipated.

Rodon had surgery at the end of the 2025 season to remove a bone chip from his throwing elbow. At his worst this offseason, he struggled with basic tasks like buttoning his shirt, let alone firing the mid-90s fastball that’s defined his career over the last five years.

That image is striking when you consider this is a 33-year-old lefty who logged a career-high 195.1 innings last year. He pushed through elbow pain late in the season just to stay in the rotation. That kind of grit builds trust. Now, that perseverance might pay off in the form of a Rodon with more life in his arm than we’ve seen for some time.

What Rodon’s Rehab Is Revealing

Here’s the part Yankees fans should find genuinely encouraging. Rodon’s been gradually ramping up his velocity, but with an unexpected twist: he’s throwing harder when he actually eases off on his effort. It’s counterintuitive, but it signals that his mechanics are settling back into place.

“I backed off and threw harder,” Rodon told the New York Post. “I was like, ‘OK, that makes no sense.’ But it made it easier to command. It’s just the little ins and outs of pitching, trying to find the stroke again, knowing how much effort in this pitch and the line of this pitch. It takes a little time.”

That statement says a lot. He’s not just telling reporters he feels good; he’s genuinely navigating the complexities of his delivery and discovering something authentic. When a pitcher backs off but gains velocity, it often means the tension is gone; the arm flows more naturally. The bone chip is out, range of motion is returning, and the arm is functioning as it should.

The overall strategy is just as promising. Rodon isn’t rushing from rehab velocity to game speed in one jump. He’s progressing deliberately. “I’m just trying to tick up a little before I get there so I can close the gap of a big discrepancy in velocity,” he explained. “So just slowly building to get the velocity up so when I get in a game, it’s a lot more natural than just going from 90 mph to 98 mph. We’ll see what it does.”

This approach reflects the experience of a veteran who understands that pushing too hard, too fast, often ends with a trip back to surgery.

The Implications for the Yankees

Looking at Rodon’s 2025 stats on Fangraphs tells a story worth noting. He posted a solid 3.09 ERA over 195.1 innings, his career high. His average fastball velocity dropped by 1.3 mph from 2024 to 94.1 mph, yet he put up some of the best results of his career. He clearly pitched through discomfort and still performed at a high level. When fully healthy during the midseason stretch, Rodon was among the elite pitchers in the American League. His strikeout rate dipped slightly, and he faded at the end, but those were signs of managing pain rather than decline.

Now imagine that pain gone, and the lost range of motion restored.

You’re likely looking at a Rodon pitching closer to 95 or 96 mph, with the refined command he’s been honing in rehab, and a realistic return to the rotation around May or June. The Yankees anticipated this scenario. They constructed a starting five designed to handle the innings until Rodon and Cole are ready to take the mound. But if Rodon returns with a freer, harder arm than he has in years, this rotation stops being just good; it becomes a serious challenge for the rest of the league.

The bone chip is out. The arm is loosening up. The Yankees’ best version of Carlos Rodon could very well be yet to come.

During Night Six of the Premier League Darts in Nottingham, Luke Littler didn't hold back in making a cheeky remark. The 19-year-old world champion had just edged out Gerwyn Price in a tense quarterfinal, only to fall to Luke Humphries later that evening. But beyond the scores, it was Littler’s exchanges with the crowd that grabbed attention amid the intense atmosphere at Motorpoint Arena.

Littler’s reputation for engaging head-on with supporters is well established. He seldom ignores the noise from the stands, often turning that energy into part of his game. His behaviour in Nottingham was a textbook example of this, especially during the thriller against Gerwyn Price. The match was tight, going down to the last leg before Littler clinched a 6-5 victory, though not without some friction.

Throughout the game, whistles from the crowd were frequent. When Littler finally hit double 20 in a crucial moment after missing several darts, his reaction was emphatic. With a loud roar and a pointed gesture toward the stands, he signalled that he wouldn’t let distractions break his focus. That moment only fuelled the charged atmosphere, with the audience staying loud all night.

Before his semifinal match against Luke Humphries, Littler made another memorable statement. Walking onto the stage, he appeared to acknowledge Nottingham Forest’s recent Europa League defeat. When the camera caught him, he raised a finger for 1-0, lifted his eyebrows, then gave a double thumbs-down, a clear nod to Forest's narrow loss to FC Midtjylland.

The Danish side had scraped through that first leg despite Forest creating chances, highlighting a tough patch for the Nottingham team, already struggling with a winless streak and growing expectations on their coaching staff.

The crowd’s reaction to Littler’s gesture was immediate – some laughter, some whistles – but the young player seemed unfazed, clearly enjoying the back-and-forth with the fans. It was another reminder that Littler isn’t just a rising star on the oche; he knows how to own the spotlight off it as well.