Dodgers Offseason: Top Pitcher on the Market Agrees to Deal with Yankees

Carlos Rodon was't likely to come to the Dodgers anyway, but now it's official, as he signed a six-year deal with the Yankees on Thursday.

Going into the offseason, the Dodgers showed interest in each of the top three free-agent starting pitchers on the market. As of Thursday night, all three have signed elsewhere. Jacob deGrom signed with the Rangers, the Mets countered by replacing him with Justin Verlander, and on Thursday evening, the Yankees locked up the third one.

Carlos Rodon $162 million contract breakdown:
$5 million signing bonus.
2023: $22 million.
2024: $27 million
2025: $27 million
2026: $27 million
2027: $27 million
2028: $27 million
Full no-trade

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 16, 2022

Carlos Rodon was, in some ways, the most likely candidate to sign with the Dodgers, simply because he was expected to (and did) command the lowest average annual value. On the other hand, he was expected to (and did) get the most years, and he had a qualifying offer attached to him, which made him less attractive to a team like the Dodgers, who are generally averse to long pitcher contracts and would have lost two draft picks and international bonus money if they'd signed him.

After a mediocre first six seasons with the White Sox, Rodon has been outstanding the last two years, finishing fifth in the AL Cy Young voting for Chicago in 2021 and sixth in the NL Cy Young race for the Giants in 2022. At 30 years old, he's almost five years younger than deGrom and almost ten years younger than Verlander. He doesn't have as long a track record as either of them, but he's been legitimately great for two years now.

For the Dodgers, that closes the book on the big-name starting pitchers. The next-best pitcher available could be Nathan Eovaldi, although he also has a qualifying offer attached and therefore might be unattractive to Los Angeles. After signing Noah Syndergaard, they might not be in the market for another starter anyway, but there are guys like Corey Kluber, Wade Miley, Michael Wacha, and Rich Hill still available.

But Rodon is a Yankee, continuing a good, expensive offseason for New York.