The New York Yankees agreed to terms with left-handed starter Carlos Rodon, the best pitcher still available on the market, on a six-year, $162 million contract.
The 30-year-old was said to be seeking around $200 million, but his contract is the largest given to a hurler during the offseason anyway.
After signing Carlos Correa, Mitch Haniger, Sean Manaea, and Ross Stripling, the San Francisco Giants had taken the lead in the list of most dollars spent on free agents during the fall and winter.
With the Yankees welcoming Rodon to the Bronx, however, they have retaken the lead and the Giants are now in second place.
“Most $ spent on free agents this offseason: Yankees: $573.5M; Giants: $463.15M; Mets: $461.67M; Phillies: $387.0M; Padres: $352.0M; Rangers: $229.7M; Astros: $93.0M,” Codify Baseball tweeted.
Most $ spent on free agents this offseason:
Yankees: $573.5M
Giants: $463.15M
Mets: $461.67M
Phillies: $387.0M
Padres: $352.0M
Rangers: $229.7M
Astros: $93.0M— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) December 16, 2022
An Offseason Filled With Dollars And Heavy Contracts
The Yankees have spent lots of resources on Aaron Judge, Rodon, Anthony Rizzo, and Tommy Kahnle; and their offseason is probably not finished.
They got subpar production last year from the shortstop, third base, and left field positions, so they will likely bring in some help there.
They might have some in-house candidates to take over every position: DJ LeMahieu could play third, Oswald Peraza could play short and Oswaldo Cabrera can be a passable left fielder.
However, they are interested in re-signing left fielder Andrew Benintendi and could end up bringing in an Evan Longoria or Justin Turner-type to help at the hot corner.
They still have part of December, all of January and part of February before spring training stars, so time is on their side.
The Bombers look determined to catch up with the Houston Astros in the American League.
NEXT: Graphic Shows The Strength Of The Yankees Rotation