The San Francisco Giants wasted no time hitting the free-agent market, reportedly coming to terms Friday afternoon with one of the top remaining starting pitchers to round out their rotation.
Left-hander Carlos Rodón agreed to a two-year deal worth $44 million, according to multiple reports, first from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Chronicle’s Susan Slusser first reported the precise terms of the deal: Rodón will earn $21.5 million this year and $22.5 million in 2023.
The 29-year-old southpaw was drafted third overall by the White Sox in 2014 and finished his tenure with them last year by compiling the best season of his career, including his first All-Star nod. He fills the final spot in a rotation headlined by homegrown ace Logan Webb and three other veterans signed or re-signed earlier this offseason.
Rodón finished his All-Star campaign with a 13-5 record and a 2.37 ERA, which would have ranked the lowest among all qualified starters, however, Rodón threw only 132 2/3 innings. That wasn’t enough to prevent him from finishing fifth in the AL Cy Young voting. It was, however, the only the third time in seven MLB seasons that he pitched that many innings, his career hampered by injuries.
Rodón’s 2.37 mark last season paired with was about half a point lower than the starter whom the Giants hope he can replace. Kevin Gausman, who the team brought in on a similar short-term deal two years ago, earned a five-year, $110 million contract from the Toronto Blue Jays after going 17-9 with a 3.00 ERA in two seasons in San Francisco (2.81, sixth in the NL, last year).
The Giants let Gausman walk and declined to pick up Johnny Cueto’s $22 million option. Right-handers Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood also had expiring contracts.
Before MLB owners locked out the players and put a freeze on transactions at the start of December, the Giants re-signed both DeSclafani and Wood and also added 34-year-old right-hander Alex Wood.
The Giants have a quality one-through-five secured, but they may not be done adding starting pitching, especially given Rodón’s injury history, which includes Tommy John surgery in 2019.
“We talk a lot about not just having a five-man rotation but having a group that can cover us over 162 games,” president of baseball operation Farhan Zaidi said in a Zoom call with reporters Friday, about two hours before he finalized terms with his first post-lockout signing.
Expect the Giants to remain active on the trade and free agency markets.
In addition to a starting pitcher along the lines of Rodón, Zaidi said the Giants were targeting upgrades to their lineup, too.
“We’re casting a pretty wide net in both of those searches,” Zaidi said. “There are some really interesting options on both of those lists that might not be at the top of everybody’s best available free agents list.”
