NEW YORK – The New York Yankees added Carlos Rodón to their rotation on Thursday and agreed to a six-year, $162 million deal with the left-hander, a person familiar with the negotiations said.
The individual confirmed the contract to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity pending a physical exam.
New York addressed its most pressing issue as it persuaded AL MVP Aaron Judge to stay in the Bronx on a nine-year, $360 million deal – Baseball’s biggest free agent deal ever. The Yankees also re-signed the first baseman Anthony Rizzo on a two-year, $40 million contract.
But Rodón’s contract is an addition to the reigning AL East champions.
Rodón went 14-8 in his lone season with the San Francisco Giants this year with a 2.88 ERA, setting career highs for wins, starts (31), innings (178) and strikeouts (237). He also earned his second consecutive All-Star selection.
Just two years ago, Rodón was not drafted by the White Sox after another injury-plagued season. But he re-signed with his first big league team for a one-year, $3 million contract and then showed the form that propelled the left-hander to the No. 3 pick in the 2014 amateur draft.
Partnering with White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz, Rodón went 13-5 in 2021 with a career-low 2.37 ERA in 24 starts in 2021. He threw a no-hitter against Cleveland in April, which was his first career shutout and his second complete game was .
Rodón, a Florida native who turned 30 on Saturday, agreed to a two-year, $44 million deal with San Francisco in March. But he dropped out after one season, gave up a $22.5 million salary for the next year, and became a free agent.
Rodón looked like a potential star as he won 5-2 and a 1.81 ERA in the last eight starts of his rookie season with Chicago in 2015. But injuries kept getting in the way.
He was limited to 12 starts in 2017 because of left biceps bursitis and left shoulder inflammation and then had arthroscopic shoulder surgery in September.
He started the 2018 season on the injured list while recovering from shoulder surgery, then returned in June. But he underwent surgery by Tommy John on May 15, 2019, cutting another season short.
Rodón is 56-46 with a 3.60 ERA in 152 major league appearances in eight seasons. He has 947 strikeouts in 847 1/3 innings.
___
AP Baseball writer Jay Cohen contributed to this report.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed or redistributed without permission.
