The Yankees’ rotation is still without Carlos Rodon and Luis Severino, both on the injured list.
Rodon played catch on Sunday as part of the left-hander’s throwing program following a recent CT scan on his back.
Aaron Boone said Rodon is still dealing with some symptoms in the back, although they are dissipating.
“Back-wise, he’s fine,’’ Boone said before the Yankees lost to the Blue Jays, 5-1, in The Bronx.
The manager called it a “good sign” that Rodon was able to throw on Sunday.
“Hopefully, he continues with his throwing program throughout the week and the back continues to subside,’’ Boone said. “But I don’t think it’s anything major structurally from a test standpoint.”
The Yankees are waiting for Rodon to make his debut with the team after signing a six-year, $162 million deal in the offseason before suffering a forearm muscle strain during spring training.
Boone doesn’t think the back issue will delay Rodon’s return by much, since he should be able to advance to a bullpen session quickly, provided the back doesn’t remain an issue.
“He hasn’t lost a lot of throwing time,’’ Boone said. “He should get right back into [throwing bullpen sessions] as soon as he can get through this.”
“He’ll continue to throw this week as the back [issue] subsidies and the medicine does its thing,’’ added Boone.
Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon played catch on Sunday as he works toward returning from injury. USA TODAY Sports
Yankees manager Aaron Boone (l.) and Carlos Rodon (r.) during spring training. Charles Wenzelberg/NY PostRodon is part of a Yankee roster that Boone called “beat up” on Sunday, with 12 players on the IL.
Without Rodon and Severino, as well as Frankie Montas, the Yankees are counting on the likes of Clarke Schmidt, who started Sunday, and Jhony Brito, who will take the mound Monday in Minnesota.
Schmidt, who pitched poorly in his first four outings, was much better against Toronto, allowing three unearned runs in 5 ²/₃ innings.
He attributed the improvement to his mindset.
“It came down to mentality,’’ Schmidt said. “I wanted to be aggressive and on the attack, so I flipped the switch in my mind.”
He also threw his cutter less against the right-hand heavy Blue Jays lineup and gave up three hits — although two were home runs.
“Coming up, I was always aggressive and a fierce competitor,’’ Schmidt said. “I felt I kind of strayed away from that the first few outings. … When your back is against the wall and you haven’t been doing your job, you can find ways to motivate yourself to go deeper into games and give the team a chance to win. I was [ticked] off I wasn’t doing it. I felt I could carry that rage into today and into the future and be on the attack.”
Harrison Bader (left oblique strain) went 0-for-3 in his rehab game with Double-A Somerset. … DJ LeMahieu had a season-high three hits. … Aaron Judge is 5-for-37 with two homers and 15 strikeouts in his last 11 games. Boone noted Judge hit two balls hard on Sunday and isn’t “far off.” … Anthony Rizzo’s homer was the 1,500th hit of his career.
Oswald Peraza started again at third base and was unable to come up with Matt Chapman’s slow roller to lead off the top of the ninth. Otherwise, the rookie was fine again, as the Yankees get creative filling in for the injured Josh Donaldson.






