The New York Yankees now have the best starting rotation in baseball.
Carlos Rodon, who pitched the 2022 season with the San Francisco Giants, agreed on a six-year, $162 million contract with the Yankees, ESPN‘s Jeff Passan confirmed early Friday.
Rodon, 30, opted out of his Giants deal after the 2022 campaign ended, becoming one of the top pitchers in free agency. He compiled a 14-8 record with San Francisco, a result of his flashy 2.88 earned run average (ERA), over 31 starts and 178 pitched innings — a career-high.
Rodon was also a 2022 All-Star, his second straight selection.
Yankees sign Carlos Rodon to six-year, $162 million deal https://t.co/vNXtHutgHD pic.twitter.com/v9CDKzqIWB
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) December 16, 2022
Breaking: Carlos Rodón and the Yankees are in agreement on a six-year, $162 million contract.
First reported by the New York Post, confirmed by @JeffPassan. pic.twitter.com/QE6nF5C7dj
— ESPN (@espn) December 16, 2022
Yeah, the New York Yankees most certainly have the best starting rotation in all of Major League Baseball. The Yanks’ starting pitching was already elite in the 2022 season, having the fourth best ERA overall. Now, the New York rotation looks like this heading into 2023 (with their 2022 stats listed):
- Gerrit Cole: 13-8, 3.50 ERA, 257 K’s
- Carlos Rodon: 14-8, 2.88 ERA, 237 K’s
- Luis Severino: 7-3, 3.18 ERA, 112 K’s
- Nestor Cortes: 12-4, 2.44 ERA, 163 K’s
- Frankie Montas: 5-12, 4.05 ERA, 142 K’s
Granted, the Yankees need to bulk up that fifth spot and make sure they don’t go down a second-half slide like they did in 2022, but on paper, those first four spots are looking absolutely sexy. When you look at the numbers (and factor in the fact that they were already a top five rotation last season), you have to put the Yankees’ starting pitching as the best going into 2023 after the addition of an elite Rodon. It might not be perfect, but it’s certainly the best.
I am curious to see how owner Hal Steinbrenner seals up the cracks, but right now, things are looking beautiful for the pinstripes: you lock up Aaron Judge for nine years, and then beef up your rotation with Rodon.
Pretty solid offseason from the New York Yankees. (RELATED: The Atlanta Braves Acquire Sean Murphy In A Three-Way Trade That Makes Zero Sense)
And a spectacular one from super-agent Scott Boras, by the way, who just keeps raking in the money for his players — over a billion dollars now that he’s piled up this offseason. Other deals outside of Rodon’s $162 million deal include: Carlos Correa ($350 million), Xander Bogaerts ($280 million), Brandon Nimmo ($162 million) and Taijuan Walker ($72 million).
I just wrote about Boras in my Carlos Correa piece Wednesday, and here we go again. Absolutely incredible.
What an offseason this has been — just sexy fireworks all over the place.