The Yankees are getting ready to make a deal with starting pitcher Carlos Rodon, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The race to sign the left-handed starter, who is a big free agent, could come down to another showdown between the Yankees and the Giants.
As expected, the New York Yankees are still trying to catch more big fish after keeping Aaron Judge. Fans expect a big and famed team like the Yankees to win the World Series or bust, and lately, there have been a lot of busts. Keeping Judge in the Yankees’ pinstripes will help keep an angry group of fans at bay for a while, but not for long. This means that the Yankees will have to keep looking for the best MLB-free agents who are still available and Carlos Rodon fits the criteria.
However, this case is a little different because Carlos Rodon was a Giant in 2022, where he did very well. He had a 2.88 ERA and 237 strikeouts in 178 innings. The pitcher led the league with 12 strikeouts per nine innings and a 2.25 FIP, which is a measure of how well a pitcher does over time. But Carlos Rodon is from Miami he turned 30 on Saturday. The Yankees seem to think they have a good or better chance here, too.
The Yankees were after Carlos Rodon. However, their interest in him picked up after Aaron Judge agreed to stay for a $360-million deal. Many think that it was Judge who asked the Yankees’ owner Hal Steinbrenner that he would like to see a few changes. This resulted in forcing the Yankees to pursue the starting pitcher. The slugger took less money than he could have gotten in San Diego or, likely, San Francisco, which set the number with that offer but could have gone higher. The Yankees would love to make Judge happy for keeping legacy over money.
Last season, Carlos Rodon played for the San Francisco Giants and they are still in the running. Heyman says it’s a battle between them and the Yankees for the left-handed starting pitcher’s services, with “a few other teams in the mix.”
In 2022, Carlos Rodon was 14-8 and made it to the All-Star Game for the second year in a row and came sixth in the voting for the Cy Young Award in the National League. In 178.0 innings, the southpaw also got 237 people to strike out.
The starting pitcher also played for the Chicago White Sox from 2015 to 21. Last offseason, he signed a two-year, $44 million deal with the Giants, which allowed him to leave after the first year with an opt-out clause.
Carlos Rodon would start for the Yankees after Gerrit Cole and before Nestor Cortes, who are both All-Stars. The fourth starter would then be Luis Severino. The best candidates to fill out the rotation would be Frankie Montas and Domingo Germán.
Carlos Rodon digs in for a seven-year contract
Many people think that Carlos Rodon’s agent, Scott Boras, is trying to get him a contract with an annual salary of about $30 million. SFC’s Susan Slusser says that the new contract could last for seven years. Carlos Rodon chose to become a free agent and cash in on his great 2022 season. He could now get a nine-figure contract.
Carlos Rodon’s market might have slowed down. Even though the left-handed pitcher has been good, he is 30 years old and has had some injuries in the past, like when he only pitched 42.1 innings from 2019 to 2020. Still, an ESPN panel has predicted that the starter would like to sign for five years and between $130 million and $150 million.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
Hire joe torre as general manager at least he’ll earn his salary