At one point in the last few days, the New York Yankees appeared to be the favorites to land top free agent pitcher Carlos Rodon, even after re-signing Aaron Judge to a contract worth $360 million.
The Bombers were determined to complete an impressive offseason.
Fast forward a couple of days, and they are no longer viewed as the favorites to sign Rodon.
They are reportedly still in, but they aren’t close on the framework of a contract.
“There is a ‘sizable gap’ between what the Yankees offered and what Carlos Rodón is seeking in free agency, per @JonHeyman,” B/R Walk-Off tweeted.
There is a "sizable gap" between what the Yankees offered and what Carlos Rodón is seeking in free agency, per @JonHeyman pic.twitter.com/Uw5Q2XA9wl
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) December 14, 2022
Rodon is reportedly seeking at least $200 million.
He already had to settle for a short-term deal last offseason because of the extraordinary circumstances of free agency back then (CBA negotiations and the lockout, to be specific).
The Yankees Are Still Trying To Get Rodon
This time, he will make sure to get every penny.
The Yankees, unlike the Mets, do appear to have a certain spending limit and after the Judge (and the Anthony Rizzo) investment, they could be feeling hesitant to make another big move.
The rotation, after all, is not as pressing of a need as the offense.
They have Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino, Frankie Montas, and Domingo German as top options.
Rodon would be well worth the investment: he is 30, he is dominant (2.88 ERA and 2.25 FIP in 178 innings in 2022, with 237 strikeouts) and he reportedly likes the Yankees and New York.
He won’t give away any discounts, though, and several teams are after his services: the St. Louis Cardinals and the Minnesota Twins are two examples.
The situation should be solved before the New Year.
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