When Carlos Rodon walked off the field after the second inning of Wednesday’s 7-3 loss at the Los Angeles Angels, he blew a kiss to the crowd.
His exchange with a fan came while the Yankees (50-47) trailed the Angels (49-48) 4-0, on the heels of Luis Rengifo‘s two-run homer.
Rodon (0-3, 7.36 ERA), who allowed six runs on four hits (two homers) while striking out three and walking five in 4 1/3 IP, explained the interaction.
“I guess it was the best reaction I could give,” Rodon said. “But better not to give a reaction, I guess. But just one of those things — I was frustrated, and better to blow a kiss or not do anything at all. So just a frustrating outing, that’s for sure, and I showed it there in the second early.”
“I didn’t really pay mind to what exactly was said, but a fan was angry — as they should be,” Rodon added. “I’m angry, too. I was angry at myself and blew a kiss, unfortunately.”
The Yankees signed Rodon to a reported six-year, $162 million contract this past December with the thought being that the southpaw could complement ace Gerrit Cole and reach a new level.
Rodon’s debut season has instead been a disappointment, from nearly missing the season’s entire first half with a left forearm strain to regressing in each of his three starts.
He, as Yankees manager Aaron Boone summarized, is simply “frustrated.”
“I would like him not to do that,” Boone said. “I also think it was him — look, he’s frustrated. It’s obviously been tough for him to be out. And then he comes back and had a rough go of it today. He wants to help this team turn it around. And I think, probably, that prevented him from doing something that he didn’t want to do, which is yell at a fan or yell at somebody.
“Not the reaction you want, and we’ve talked about it. But when you’re in the arena and you’re going through it, sometimes you do things you don’t necessarily want to engage in. And hopefully he’ll learn from that and move on. But I think it was better than getting into a shouting match or doing something that he would regret.”