Yankees pitching coach critical of Rodón's snub: 'You can't act like that'
New York Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake was unhappy with left-hander Carlos Rodón's attitude during a mound visit in Friday night's game against the Kansas City Royals.
Rodón gave up eight runs without recording an out and appeared to turn his back to Blake while the coach talked to him during the visit.
Carlos Rodon turning his back to Matt Blake and gesturing him to go back to the dugout while Blake was trying to talk to him was certainly something pic.twitter.com/HO5RirjenD
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) September 30, 2023
"I understand we all have jobs to do. He's frustrated," Blake said, according to The Athletic's Chris Kirschner. "That's a big part of it. There's a remorseful side and an apologetic side to it, but you can't act like that."
The 30-year-old apologized to Blake for the incident, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Saturday, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. The skipper added that the veteran pitcher could've faced discipline if he did that earlier in the season.
Rodón was also remorseful when asked about it postgame.
"Really embarrassing, and then doing that with Matt coming out trying to help me, I turned my back," Rodón said. "I was not in the right mind. That's on me."
Rodón struggled mightily in his first season with the Yankees after inking a six-year, $162-million contract in free agency. He finished the 2023 campaign with a 3-8 record, 6.85 ERA, and 1.45 WHIP across 14 starts.