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The writing was on the walls, and it finally happened. Carlos Rodón,, you ARE a Yankee. I thought this would have dragged until the new year, but alas, the job got done.
Steinbrenner open up his wallet, Judge asked for reinforcements, fans are happy. Wow, this is nice, huh?
It's funny how wrong Jon Heyman is about these things. Per his report, the Yankees were "far apart" from a deal with Rodón, who was looking for seven years and $210 million at minimum while the Yankees don't want to go that high in years and/or average annual value in dollars.
Clearly not the case. So 6 Years, $162M, that puts him at $27M AAV until his age 36 year old season. The deal also includes a no-trade clause. That makes him the 8th highest paid starter annually. He did though have the highest WAR of the free agent staters last year at 11.1. Honestly, it's a very solid deal for a guy who has had a 2.62 ERA over the past two seasons, a strikeout machine, and someone who is fearless on the mound.
Photo: Spotrac
The Yankees were all in on the southpaw, with rumors saying they wanted him at the trade deadline. Last season, he finished sixth in the NL Cy Young voting in 2022 after going 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 237 strikeouts in 178 innings; his 12 strikeouts per nine innings was tops in MLB. The Yankees desperately needed a reliable starter, and they now have their guy. The 2x All-Star was one of the top names besides deGrom and Verlander on the market. He is reliable and "tough", and his mid-90s heater has the second highest whiff rate in the majors, only behind his new teammate Gerrit Cole.
With Carlos locked in, the rotation is as followed.
Gerrit Cole
Carlos Rodón,
Nestor Cortes
Luis Severino
Frankie Montas
Potential 6th Starter / Spot Start
Domingo German
Clarke Schmidt
Deivi Garcia
Getting a guy like Rodón, is massive to this team for various reasons. It put less pressure on Gerrit Cole to be the top ace, as well as lightens the load to guys like Nestor, Sevy, and Montas. Also, I think Rodón, is an upgrade over Taillon, despite Jameson being a gritty winner.
Could the Yanks F-Around and get another starter? Maybe Nathan Eovaldi? Could they still flip Torres for Pablo Lopez? I doubt it, but it would be nice. The focus shifts towards 1 - signing a left fielder, 2 - moving the deadweight of Hicks and Donaldson, and 3 - replenishing the bullpen. In Cash We Trust.