The Yankees added a key piece to their rotation, as they reached an agreement on a six-year, $162 million deal with former Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants LHP Carlos Rodon, according to SNY's Andy Martino.
Rodon was one of the more intriguing names among this year's class of free agent pitchers, and after Justin Verlander went off the board to the Mets, the lefty became the best available top-tier starter left on the market.
Rodon, who is entering his age-30 season, has pitched like an ace in each of the last two campaigns. He went 13-5 with a 2.37 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP with the White Sox in 2021 and followed that up with 14 wins, a 2.88 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP with San Francisco in 2022.
He earned All-Star appearances in each of those years.
Prior to the last two seasons, though, Rodon had a 4.14 ERA and 1.379 WHIP over his first six pro seasons. Perhaps the lefty has legitimately turned a corner and has discovered how to be as effective as possible, but there's always a chance he regresses back a bit to the pitcher he was prior to 2021.
Of course, a big part of Rodon's career path and his future outlook is his health. Rodon underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2019, limiting him to just 11 games from 2019-2020. He made a career-high 31 starts in 2021, but his injury history is certainly something to keep in mind.
Rodon gives the Yankees a very formidable one-two punch at the top of the rotation, as the lefty teams up with righty Gerrit Cole.