Cubs projected to face Carlos Rodón in his Yankees debut

The Chicago Cubs will head to the Bronx this coming Friday to play a three-game set against the New York Yankees to close out the first half. Per Yankees reporter Bryan Hoch, Friday's game is set to mark the season and Yankees debut of lefty pitcher Carlos Rodón.

Rodón, 30, signed a six-year, $162 million deal with the Yankees this past offseason, but a forearm strain during spring training has delayed his debut with New York. The two-time All-Star was drafted by the White Sox and he pitched for them for seven years before pitching with San Francisco last year. Over his past two seasons, he sports a 2.67 ERA, 2.42 FIP, 0.998 WHIP and 422 strikeouts in 310.2 innings pitched.

Cubs still looking for first Yankee Stadium win in franchise history

This will be an interesting matchup for the Cubs as he will probably not be pushed too hard in his first game back from injury, but he still will not be an easy man to face. The Cubs did beat him last year on Sept. 9 at Wrigley Field with the big blow being a two-run shot off the bat of Yan Gomes. He did not pitch poorly in that game, with 5.1 innings and two runs allowed, but the Cubs won. Overall in his career, Rodón sports a 3.45 ERA and 1.2 WHIP against the Cubs in seven games.

There will definitely be some buzz at Yankee Stadium with his debut, and keep in mind...the Cubs have never won a game in the Bronx. Not in the regular season or World Series play. The assignment to finally win at Yankee Stadium has just gotten a bit tougher.