Rodon played catch Thursday and is lined up to toss a bullpen session Friday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
There's no injury here -- just a cautious approach to manage Rodon's workload in 2017, which is expected to climb. Easing off the southpaw in spring will allow him more innings in the regular season, during which he could finally break through as a fantasy hurler. While his prospective owners should only expect around 170 innings, he could be dominant during that span, considering last year's sizable control improvements (4.59 BB/9 in 2015, 2.95 in 2016) and 3.45 second-half ERA.