New York Yankees

MLB Rumors: Carlos Rodon, Yankees Agree to Six-Year, $162M Contract

The All-Star pitcher posted a 2.88 ERA and finished sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting last season

Report: Carlos Rodon, Yankees agree to six-year, $162M contract originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

After one of the most dominant seasons by a starting pitcher in San Francisco Giants history, Carlos Rodón has agreed to a six-year deal, $162 million contract with the New York Yankees, the New York Post's Jon Heyman first reported Thursday night.

Rodón will join Aaron Judge, who returned to the Yankees last week under the assumption that New York would build a better roster around him. 

In 31 starts last season, Rodón posted a 2.88 ERA and 2.25 FIP, which led MLB. He also led the majors in strikeouts per nine and finished with 237 overall. 

Rodón set a Giants franchise record by throwing 11 double-digit strikeout games, and he finished the season ranked second among all MLB pitchers in FanGraphs' version of Wins Above Replacement. He was an All-Star for a second consecutive season and finished sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting. 

He joins a Yankees rotation that will include ace Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino and Frankie Montas. Rodón takes the place of Jameson Taillon, who signed a four-year, $68 million deal with the Chicago Cubs last week after going 14-5 with a 3.91 ERA for the Yankees last season. 

Rodón gave the Giants more than they could have hoped for when they signed him to a two-year, $44 million deal after the lockout ended. It ended up being one of the steals of the offseason, but to get Rodón to San Francisco, the Giants had to include an opt-out after the first season. Rodón stayed healthy and opting out was an easy decision, as he pitched his way to the top of the market in 2022. 

The move leaves the Giants without their best pitcher from 2022, but that was not unexpected. They have preferred shorter contracts for starting pitchers and moved to fill Rodón's spot over the last week by signing Ross Stripling and agreeing to a contract with Sean Manaea. Both pitchers got two-year, $25 million deals. 

The Giants will move forward with a group that has less upside because of Rodón's departure, but solid depth. Logan Webb once again lines up as the Opening Day starter, with Alex Cobb, Ross Stripling, Alex Wood, Anthony DeSclafani and Sean Manaea filling in the other spots in some order. The Giants currently have six options, although they are unsure what kind of workload DeSclafani will be able to take on after ankle surgery.

The group should be one of the better ones in the National League if the Giants can fix their defensive issues. Star shortstop Carlos Correa, who signed a 13-year, $350 million deal with the Giants on Tuesday, will go a long way toward doing that.

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