Carlos Rodon, New York Yankees
The Yankees demonstrated all the risks involved in signing a pitcher long-term when they put Rodon under contract for six seasons at $162 million, $22.833 million of that to be paid in 2023.
Thanks to a preseason injury, Rodon didn’t even make an appearance until July and, when he did, he was nothing special. He finished the season with a 3-8 record and 6.85 ERA in 14 starts covering a painful 64 innings.
That’s what $22.833 million will get you in the Bronx these days.
It all worked out to a WAR of -0.9. The Yankees used 32 pitchers in 2023 (among them Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Josh Donaldson) but only Luis Severino had a worse WAR than Rodon. Of his 14 starts, he failed to last five innings in six of them, including September 29 against the Royals when he faced eight batters, every one of whom scored.
The Yankees will hope that, braced by a healthy offseason and a normal spring, Rodon will bounce back to something approaching his old self in 2024. He might; he was a combined 27-13 in 2021-22 for the White Sox and Giants.
Anyway the Yanks have 140 million reasons to hope so. That’s the amount they still owe him through 2028. Transactional grade: F