Yankees have giant opportunity to rectify a midseason failure

The New York Yankees re-signed Aaron Judge, now they have to make a move that they should have made at this past trade deadline.

The New York Yankees, despite a brief scare, managed to retain star outfielder and 2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge. All it took was a call from owner Hal Steinbrenner to Judge to get a nine-year, $360 million deal done. That helped avoid potential catastrophe, as it appeared heading that way after the now infamous “Arson Judge” tweet that hinted that Judge could be heading to the San Francisco Giants.

Yes, the Yankees accomplished their main offseason goal, along with re-signing first baseman Anthony Rizzo. But the job’s not done for general manager Brian Cashman. He needs to further improve this roster. That could start by adding another big name to the starting rotation. Of course, we’re talking about Carlos Rodon.

Yankees now must add Carlos Rodon, something they should’ve done at trade deadline

The Yankees have been linked to Rodon throughout the offseason, even prior to the Judge agreement. YES Network’s Jack Curry brings up that the Yankees tried to acquire Rodon at the trade deadline, but they weren’t able to get anything going with the Giants on a deal. Curry mentions that the Yankees like Rodon’s “toughness” and see him as a “great fit” in New York.

At the trade deadline, the Yankees lost out on Luis Castillo and obviously Rodon. The team did bring in Frankie Montas from the Oakland Athletics, but the move didn’t pan out.

This offseason, New York does have a need for a starting pitcher. Jameson Taillon, who was slotted in the middle of their rotation, hit free agency and agreed to a four-year, $68 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. Rodon is easily the best starting pitcher available after Jacob deGrom signed with the Texas Rangers and Justin Verlander joined the New York Mets.

Rodon joined the Giants in free agency last year after an impressive 2021 campaign with the Chicago White Sox. He followed that up with an equally solid year, as he made the All Star Game for the second-consecutive season.

In 31 starts, Rodon recorded a 2.88 ERA, a 1.028 WHIP, a 14-8 record, 237 strikeouts and 52 walks in 178.0 innings. Rodon led the National League with a 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings ratio.

The Yankees need to make additions this offseason if they want to get past the Houston Astros in the postseason. They still need a left fielder, but adding a starter to create a stout top three alongside Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes is another area that needs to be addressed. Rodon is the pitcher that the team needs, and Cashman needs to get a deal done.