NEW YORK – Elmer Rodriguez is back in the big leagues, with Yankees’ ace lefty Max Fried on the injured list.
Fried is shut down from throwing for the next few weeks due to a left elbow bone bruise, causing him to be pulled after three innings in Wednesday afternoon’s start at Baltimore.
The right-handed Rodriguez could slot into Fried’s spot for Tuesday night’s start against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.
Meanwhile, Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole – rehabbing from Tommy John surgery 14 months ago – is due to make another minor league rehab start on Saturday. He’s expected to have at least one more such start before moving into the Yanks’ rotation.
The Yankees’ No. 2 rated organizational prospect per MLB Pipeline, Rodriguez made two starts earlier this season, going 0-1 with a 5.19 ERA, pitching a total of 8.2 innings.
If he starts on Tuesday, Rodriguez, 25, would be in line to start again next Sunday at Yankee Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Following his diagnosis on Friday, Fried said he was “definitely bummed” about “missing some time, but overall happy that it doesn’t look like it’s going to be anything serious.”
The ligament was fine, per Fried’s CT scan and MRI results.
“You never want to go on the IL,” said Fried. “But you also understand the long-term outlook still looks good.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Yankees recall Elmer Rodriguez from Triple-A