Carlos Rodón was officially introduced as a Yankee on Thursday, and everything that entails. He already has adopted a far-more polished look, as though he's signing on to serve as a consultant for some corporate right-sizing ...
... and his wife Ashley got the tabloid treatment simply from "beaming at his side" during the media conference.
During the session, I like how he summed up the tail end of his final season with the White Sox:
Cashman acknowledged that there is risk involved in the deal, as Rodón carries a lengthy injury history. He appeared in only 11 games from 2019-20 as he returned from Tommy John surgery and missed significant time from 2017-18 as he recovered from left shoulder surgery. Still, Rodón assuaged those durability concerns this past season.
“At the end of 2021, I got a little tired, but I knew I felt good,” Rodón said. “This past year is when I knew I was 100 percent, like, ‘I can do this.’ I knew I could take on a full season.”
If by "felt good," he meant "structurally sound," then there's little room for disagreement based on how his 2022 went. If he's talking about his capacity for strong performances, not so much, but that was two teams ago, which makes any imprecision in memory a little more excusable.
Spare Parts
While José Abreu appears to be declining against fastballs, the contact remains strong when he makes it, which helps explain why the Astros weren't scared by the drop in power.
Trevor Bauer will officially be reinstated today after his suspension was reduced from 324 to 194 games. The Dodgers had no initial reaction, and whatever move they make will speak volumes about Bauer's future in the game.
- The Giants were willing to take a risk on Carlos Correa, until they weren't -- The Athletic
- Twins paused their Carlos Correa pursuit after deal with Giants evaporated -- The Athletic
The Giants acted like the dog who caught the car, and when they balked on seeing his 13-year, $350 million contract all the way through, Scott Boras went back to the Twins, who patted themselves on the back for their runner-up offer when they figured their bluff wouldn't be called.
Prior to Correa delivering them a “kick in the gut” when he chose the Giants on Dec. 13, the Twins had offered him a 10-year, $285 million deal.
When he called again on Tuesday, Boras informed the Twins they’d need to improve upon their original offer. Team sources said the Twins wouldn’t increase their bid, nor would they hold further discussions until they had a better understanding of the medical concerns that reportedly caused Correa’s deal with the Giants to fall apart.
If Manny Machado accepted the White Sox's offer -- or turned to the White Sox if the Padres got cold feet -- I can imagine them acting in a similar fashion.
I like how this anonymous source denies that there's collusion among teams in keeping spending unofficially capped, then went on to describe something that sounds kinda like collusion.
As baseball’s wealthiest owner, Cohen is better positioned to assemble a super-team than any other. But the fraternity of owners does not usually look kindly to those who break from the pack, particularly when it raises costs for them.
“I think it’s going to have consequences for him down the road,” said an official with another major league team who was not authorized to speak publicly. “There’s no collusion. But … there was a reason nobody for years ever went past $300 million. You still have partners, and there’s a system.”
- Royals seek liberation through Jordan Lyles -- FanGraphs
- The Royals are something worse than bad -- they're boring -- Royals Review
The Royals were the last team to make an addition to their major-league roster, and Jordan Lyles represents their first significant move at two years and $17 million. He's a rare pedestrian righty who looks pedestrian against the White Sox, going 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA and just 14 strikeouts over 29⅔ innings.
Speaking of the Royals, the cornerstones of their 2015 World Series championship were both unceremoniously dumped with plenty of money left on their deals. Moustakas will be owed $22 million over the last year of his four-year contract when including the buyout, and Hosmer will be owed $39 million over the next three years by the Padres, minus the league minimum that will be paid by whatever team signs him next.
Given that Moustakas is a left-handed bat with experience at third and second, I gave his B-Ref page a scan just to see if it makes any sense for the White Sox. He hit .212/.289/.356 with 13 homers over 140 games in his last two seasons in Cincinnati, good for a -2.0 WAR, so unless it's a minor league deal or something equally low-stakes, I don't see it.
