After retaining Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees are still trying to reel in more big fish, as expected. When you’re an organization like the Yankees, the fanbase has an expectation of a World Series title or bust, and as of late, we’ve seen a lot of busts.
In turn, there’s a great amount of internal pressure to improve over last season’s AL Championship loss after a phenomenal season that led to a 99-63 record prior to the playoffs.
Keeping Judge in the Yankee pinstripes will help keep a rabid fanbase at bay, but not for long. This means the Yankees will have to continue chasing the very best MLB free agents left on the market.
Right now, the top two are two-time All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa and two-time All-Star starting pitcher Carlos Rodon. The Yankees are in hot pursuit of both.
Yet, if signing Rodon is truly the team’s top priority, then landing him won’t be easy.
Carlos Rodon seeking seven-year contract from New York Yankees
Many are expecting Rodon to receive a contract with an annual salary at roughly $30 million, with agent Scott Boras driving a hard bargain. Yet, we also are hearing from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, who says Rodon is seeking a seven-year contract.
Perhaps the length is what’s slowed Rodon’s market down. As good as the left-handed pitcher has been, he’s also 30 years old and does come with some injury history, such as when he tossed just 42.1 innings from 2019-20.
But players get paid off what they’ve recently accomplished, and Rodon’s been an All-Star in each of the past two seasons, pitching to an ERA of just 2.67 over 310.2 innings with the White Sox and Giants. You can’t blame a player for trying to maximize their worth while they can, and that appears to be exactly what Rodon’s camp is aiming for.
Chances are, someone, whether it’s the Yankees or another team, will eventually pony up for the top remaining pitcher in free agency.
Related: MLB free agency rumors 2022: Updating latest free agency news, rumors