The New York Yankees announced that they have signed two-time All-Star LHP Carlos Rodón to a six-year Major League contract extending through the 2028 season.
Rodón, 30, went 14-8 with one complete game and a 2.88 ERA (178.0IP, 131 H, 59 R/57 ER, 52 BB, 237 K, 12 HR) over 31 starts with the San Francisco Giants in 2022. He posted career highs in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, double-digit strikeout games (11) and games started.
The 6’3” left-hander led the Majors last year in strikeouts-per-9.0-innings (11.98) and double-digit strikeout games, finishing second in pitcher WAR (6.2, FanGraphs), third in strikeouts, fourth in opponents’ OPS (.571), fifth in opponents’ slugging percentage (.308), sixth in HR/9.0 IP (0.61) and eighth in opponents’ batting average (.202). Additionally, 135 of his strikeouts last season ended with a fastball. According to Statcast, that was the third-highest total in the Majors, trailing only teammates Nestor Cortes (144 K) and Gerrit Cole (141 K).
A two-time All-Star (2021, ‘22), Rodón is 56-46 with three complete games and a 3.60 ERA (847.1 IP, 731 H, 368 R/339 ER, 319 BB, 947 K, 91 HR) in 152 career games (147 starts) with the Chicago White Sox (2015-21) and San Francisco Giants (2022). He has also finished in the top-six of Cy Young voting twice (fifth in 2021 and sixth in 2022).
Over the last two seasons (2021-22), Rodón has gone 27-13 with two complete games and a 2.67 ERA (310.2 IP, 222 H, 98 R/92 ER, 88 BB, 422 K, 25 HR) in 55 starts. Over that span, he led the Majors in strikeouts-per-9.0-innings (12.23), while finishing third in pitcher WAR (11.1, FanGraphs) and opponents’ slugging percentage (.307), fourth in opponents’ OPS (.567) and double-digit strikeout games (16), sixth in opponents’ batting average (.196), tied for sixth in wins, seventh in strikeouts, ERA and opponents’ OBP (.259), and eighth in HR/9.0 IP (0.72).
In his final season with the White Sox in 2021, he went 13-5 with a career-best 2.37 ERA (132.2 IP, 91 H, 39 R/35 ER, 36 BB, 185 K, 13 HR) in 24 starts. On April 14, 2021 at Guaranteed Rate Field, Rodón tossed the 20th no-hitter in White Sox history, retiring the first 25 Cleveland batters faced before allowing his only baserunner on a hit-by-pitch in the ninth.
Originally selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 16th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, Rodón did not sign and played at North Carolina State University for three seasons (2012-14). The White Sox then made him the third overall pick of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft. On March 16, 2022, he signed with the Giants, inking a two-year Major League contract extending through 2023 with a player opt-out following the 2022 season. He exercised that option on Nov. 6, 2022.
