The Yankees have been the favorites to land starting pitcher Carlos Rodon for at least the last couple of weeks. After lots of reported stalling in negotiations — which was likely manufactured by Rodon’s well-known agent — the Bombers finally got their man on Thursday night.
Despite there being a “sizable gap” between what the Yankees were offering and what Rodon’s camp was asking for, the two sides agreed to a six-year, $162 million deal.
The southpaw, who was born and raised in North Carolina, seemed to prefer pitching in the eastern portion of the United States. As the Yankees pursued him, rumors surfaced that Rodon also preferred to play for the Bombers. Now that New York’s rotation is set, the lefty’s presence gives this unit a huge boost for 2023.
Both parties got what they wanted. Rodon got a huge payday with the club he wanted to play for. Meanwhile, the Yankees got the pitcher they coveted for the rotation. Was this union about a decade in the making, though?
Here’s a clip of Rodon that surfaced on Twitter earlier this week:
It’s clear that Carlos Rodon has always wanted to be a Yankee pic.twitter.com/PpjoOhB0oJ
— ZT (@NY_EvilEmpire) December 13, 2022
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
That appears to be a 2014 MLB Draft logo behind him, which was the year the Chicago White Sox selected him with the third overall pick. Like many college-aged students, he was a fan of karaoke while on campus.
Of all the songs he could start to belt out as a millennial, Rodon chose “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra. You know, the one the Yankees play after a victory. That’s no coincidence. This dude has probably been thinking about playing for the Yankees for at least the past eight years, and probably more.
It took a while, but it finally happened for the hurler. He was first drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 16th round of the 2011 MLB Draft. Rodon went to NC State and improved his draft stock to being a top pick for the White Sox in ’14. He reached the majors nearly immediately in 2015 and stayed in the Windy City until 2021. A one-year stopover in San Francisco with the Giants helped make what appears to be a dream, come true.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
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