by The Yankees are expected to submit a contract offer. Carlos Rodon Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports in the coming days. Heyman has suggested several times that the Yankees are seriously interested in the best free agent remaining, and putting a formal bid on the table would be a notable step in that quest.
The terms of the offer are unclear, but Heyman reiterates that New York is left-handed and its representatives at Boras Corporation are reluctant to offer more than the seven guaranteed seasons they are reportedly seeking. Year seven is a high target for Rodón’s camp, assuming they don’t experience any significant annual declines to make up for the long run. That doesn’t seem to be the case as Heyman wrote that they were looking for a deal in excess of $200 million in warranties.
This is rare territory because only six shooters have raised over $200 million. Gerrit Cole It stands on the head and shoulders of the pack with $324 million over nine years, while the rest of the group controls $206.5 million to $245 million. Stephen Strasbourg, David Price, Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Zack Greinke they are the only other shooters who reach that level. A handful of additional free agent pitchers (kevin brown, Mike Hampton, CC Sabathia and barry zito) has reached over seven years in deals under $200 million, but that’s a rare occurrence for a pitcher.
At the start of the off-season, MLBTR stipulated a five-year, $140 million warranty for Rodón. The free agent rotation market overall has been stronger than expected, and a six-year deal at least looks very achievable for a two-time All-Star. Landing a seventh season with an annual salary below the projected $28 million—thus lowering the average annual value of the deal and lowering the luxury tax hit for a signing team—may be on the table. This has been a common strategy this summer season. Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Brandon Nimmo all receive slight annual discounts for very long deals with larger-than-expected warranties. Of course, for Rodón, the best of both worlds would be a seven-year term that gives up on nothing on an annual basis. It is not yet clear whether a team will go this distance with a seven-year deal that requires at least $28.57M in annual salary to reach a total of $200M.
Rodón is the only free agent ace still available. Jacob de Grom and Justin Verlander They were two free agent shooters who could rival or beat Rodón in terms of performance. Their age limited them to shorter deals (five and two years, respectively) than Rodón was seeking. At 30, the former third overall draft has arguably the best combination of performance history and youth among this year’s shooter class. However, as an actor who had Tommy John surgery and shoulder surgery in his injury history, there are question marks.
The North Carolina State product remained healthy through 2022, scoring a career-high 2.88 ERA in 178 innings for the Giants. He was great for the second season in a row, outstripping a third of his opponents with solid control. In terms of odds, he is one of the best shooters in the sport, but has no history of the workload of any shooter who has previously reached $200 million.
Cole, Strasburg, Price, Kershaw, Scherzer and Grienke had multiple seasons with over 200 hits before signing their mega deals; Rodón had never reached this level. Still, the workload for beginner shooters continues to decline, and this is why teams are increasingly placing more value on performance-per-shot, while weighing less on the volume of workloads as shooter roles change.
New York and the incumbent Giants tied up with Rodón several times and Heyman Additional The Cardinals as a team with interest over the weekend. The Rangers, Mets and Blue Jays previously tied for him in the off-season, but added Texas later Andrew Heaney agreeing to terms with Toronto to join deGrom Chris Bassitt tonight. The Mets landed on each of Verlander’s, José Quintana and Kodai Senga. The Orioles, Red Sox and Twins have also been very loosely linked to Rodón in previous reports, but the extent of the involvement of all three clubs is unclear.
