Carlos Rodón is headed to the Bronx, a move that projects to give the Yankees one of the American League’s most formidable starting rotations.
Rodón and the Yankees agreed on Thursday to a six-year, $162 million contract, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The deal includes a full no-trade clause and has not been formally announced by the club.
While negotiating that agreement, managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner promised Judge that the club could satisfy his demands and do more to improve the roster. With Rodón, Steinbrenner delivered.
Rodón was widely viewed as the top remaining starting pitcher on the free-agent market, with Jacob deGrom having relocated to the Rangers and Justin Verlander now across town with the Mets.
In 31 starts this past season for the Giants, Rodón was 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA, earning his second consecutive All-Star selection and placing sixth in the NL Cy Young balloting. In 178 innings, Rodón permitted 131 hits and 52 walks against 237 strikeouts, leading the Majors with a 2.25 FIP and 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings.
Rodón is expected to slide behind ace right-hander Gerrit Cole as the Yankees’ No. 2 starter in a rotation that also projects to feature Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino and Frankie Montas, with Domingo Germán and Clarke Schmidt now pushed back into depth options.
Wielding his electric fastball-slider combination, Rodón last year set a Giants franchise record with 11 double-digit strikeout games, seven of which came in the second half. Opposing batters hit only .202 against Rodón, the fourth-lowest mark in the NL.
Now three years removed from Tommy John surgery, Rodón is throwing harder than ever. He averaged a career-high 95.5 mph on his fastball in 2022, which ranked in the top five among lefty starters.
Over eight seasons with the White Sox and the Giants, Rodón is 56-46 in 152 appearances (147 starts) with 947 strikeouts in 847 1/3 innings. He threw the 20th no-hitter in White Sox history against Cleveland on April 21, 2021, falling just short of a perfect game after he hit Roberto Pérez with a backfoot slider with one out in the ninth inning.