White Sox letting Carlos Rodón walk to Giants will really help Yankees

Remember many New York Yankees fans were frustrated the front office didn’t sign Carlos Rodón after missing out on Justin Verlander? They had good reason to be! The rotation needed help and Rodón, despite injury concerns, was coming off a career year.

Another big positive would’ve been stealing a prime asset from an American League competition in the Chicago White Sox, who figured to be an eventual opponent of the Yankees in the postseason. A 2-for-1! Come on!

Well, hey, turns out this wasn’t the worst thing in the world. The Yankees have one of the best rotations in all of baseball and Rodón ended up leaving the White Sox anyway. In fact, he left the AL altogether.

The lefty is now absolutely tearing it up for the San Francisco Giants, and, had his four outings come in Chicago, chances are the White Sox wouldn’t be 7-11 at the moment.

They rank 19th in MLB in starters’ ERA (4.06) and lost arguably the most valuable player a team could possess heading into a playoff series: an ace or a co-ace. Throw in Rodón’s intensity, and it’s almost a double loss.

Or, what we’d like to call, a colossal gain for the Yankees, who can now avoid Rodón both during the regular season and in a hypothetical AL playoff series.

Carlos Rodón leaving the White Sox is huge for the Yankees

He’s on Jacob deGrom’s level at the moment?! His curveball has been fixed. He’s still throwing absolute gas and breathing fire on the mound. This is the exact kind of competitive lunatic the Yankees have folded to time and time again.

Through his first four starts, he’s 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 0.95 FIP and 38 strikeouts in 23 innings. Nothing’s holding him back. Though he has a career 4.50 ERA in seven starts against the Yankees, he was never quite pitching like this over that span.

Happy to avoid it until the World Series, thank you very much.

Admittedly, it’d be thrilling if this production was coming in pinstripes, especially since it would’ve toned down Gerrit Cole’s troubling start to the season. But, for once, the Yankees failing to flex their financial muscle might not doom them as quickly or as impactfully as it usually does. Rodón can enjoy himself on the West Coast while the Bombers can focus on a thinned-out herd in the AL.

Another valuable free agency lesson for Brian Cashman and Co., though? Next time, just sign the guy.

Yankees passing on Carlos Rodón after Justin Verlander report makes no sense

The New York Yankees let Carlos Rodón sign with the San Francisco Giants instead of paying up for a year. What do we think of this?