Yankees' Carlos Rodon will be examined by back specialist on Thursday

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman shed some light on the confounding Carlos Rodon situation on Wednesday. 

Rodon, the lefthander the Yankees signed to a six-year, $162-million contract, has yet to pitch in the regular season after suffering a left forearm strain in spring training. That injury is long healed, but Rodon has been dealing with a mysterious back injury that the Yankees have not defined. 

Rodon is scheduled to be examined by a back specialist again on Thursday, Cashman said. The issue is that even though Rodon wants to pitch, when he does he still feels discomfort in his back. 

“He can throw. He wants to throw,” Cashman said. “He doesn't feel fully comfortable. There's a little restriction in there. So we want to make sure that we aren't missing anything before we completely ramp up and then have to ramp down. So we just want to get assurances and comfort level by putting him in the hands of a doctor tomorrow down there in Tampa and run through some tests. 

“I can tell you this: I talked to him today. He's (ticked). He wanted to throw today. He wanted to throw yesterday. He's champing at the bit because he wants to pitch . . . It's important for us to make sure we dot every I, cross every T, so we're not dealing with me having to talk about something like this a month from now -- of why we can't get him out of the gate because we ignored a stop sign.” 

Cortes pushed back 

Nestor Cortes, who has been dealing with a case of strep throat, will not start against the Rays at Tampa Bay on Friday. Jhony Brito will replace him. Cortes has been moved to Monday against Oakland. 

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.