Damn Yankees -- Yankees To Sign Carlos Rodon [View all]

The Yankees are signing top free agent starter Carlos Rodón, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter links). It’s a six-year, $162MM guarantee with a full no-trade clause, according to Heyman.

New York lands the top remaining starting pitcher available, pairing him with their record-setting deal for defending MVP Aaron Judge as part of a huge offseason. The guarantee ties that of Brandon Nimmo for the sixth-largest deal of the offseason. Rodón will finish with the second-largest deal among free agent pitchers, narrowly behind the five-year, $180MM pact Jacob deGrom inked with the Rangers.

It’s the culmination of an incredible two-season run for Rodón. The left-hander entered the professional ranks eight years ago, selected by the White Sox with the third overall pick in the 2014. Owner of a mid-90s fastball and a wipeout slider, he was regarded as a potential top-of-the-rotation starter who’d quickly reach the big leagues. Rodón indeed found himself on Chicago’s south side by the middle of the 2015 campaign, and he posted a 3.90 ERA in 304 1/3 innings through the end of the following season.

Unfortunately, the Miami native’s career was then sidetracked by injuries. Rodón lost a chunk of the 2017 campaign to biceps bursitis, then underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery that September. He didn’t debut until June the following year, making 20 starts. Early the next season, he was diagnosed with an elbow issue. He went back under the knife in May ’19, this time undergoing a Tommy John procedure. He missed the remainder of that year, returning at the tail end of the 2020 campaign for four appearances.[/blockquote

Read more: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/yankees-to-sign-carlos-rodon.html