by Lefty starter Carlos Rodon has agreed with the New York Yankees on a six-year, $162 million deal, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Thursday.
Rodon, 30, was the best pitcher left on the market after stepping down on a contract with the San Francisco Giants after last season. He was 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA in 2022, pitching a career-high 178 innings from 31 starts. He also earned his second consecutive All-Star selection.
Rodon was the third pick in the 2014 draft by the Chicago White Sox, but battled injuries during the early part of his career before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned to elite form in 2021 as he compiled a 2.37 ERA over 24 starts, though the White Sox have been careful with him down the stretch. He never pitched more than five innings in the last two months of the season.
Even with his success that year, the White Sox did not offer Rodon that offseason, leading to a two-year contract with the Giants. He included an opt-out that he elected to exercise in November.
Rodon joins Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino and Frankie Montas in the Yankees’ rotation, who ranked fourth overall in ERA last year. That ranking was not indicative of some second half struggles, as the Yankees were eliminated in the postseason by the Houston Astros.
The deal, which was first reported by the New York Post, is the latest for agent Scott Boras, who is once again having a busy offseason. Other deals for his clients include Carlos Correa ($350M), Xander Bogaerts ($280M), Brandon Nimmo ($162M), Masataka Yoshida ($90M), Taijuan Walker ($72M), Sean Manaea ($72M), $25 million) and Cody Bellinger ($17.5 million).
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Rodon’s deal is the second-largest contract the Yankees have ever given a pitcher in terms of total value, surpassed only by Cole’s $324 million deal in 2019. Rodon gets $ 1 million more than CC Sabathia’s $161 million deal with the Yankees in 2008.
Between Rodon and Aaron Judge, who signed a nine-year, $360 million deal to stay with the Yankees earlier this month, the team has secured $522 million in contracts this offseason.
Rodon has a career record of 56-46 with a 3.60 ERA.
He won’t have long to wait to face his former team the Giants, with the Yankees hosting San Francisco on Opening Day of the 2023 season.
