Carlos Rodon

The New York Yankees are preparing an offer to free agent starting pitcher Carlos Rodón, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

The 30-year-old left-hander is the Yankees' "top remaining target," per Heyman, who said that the team seems "hopeful, or perhaps even optimistic" about their chances.

The San Francisco Giants, who Rodón played for last season, remain involved, and Heyman characterized it as a battle between them and the Yankees for the left-hander's services with "a few other teams in the mix" as well.

Rodón went 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA last year. He earned an All-Star Game appearance for the second straight year and finished sixth in the National League Cy Young voting. The southpaw also struck out 237 batters in 178.0 innings.

The former North Carolina State star played for the Chicago White Sox from 2015-21 before signing with the Giants last offseason on a two-year, $44 million contract that included an opt-out after the first year.

Rodón elected to become a free agent and cash in on his great 2022 season, and now he stands to earn a nine-figure contract. A seven-person ESPN panel predicted that Rodón would sign for five years and anywhere between $130 million and $150 million. Rodón is looking for a seven-year deal, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rodón would fit second in the Yankees' starting rotation between All-Stars Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes. Luis Severino would then slot in as the fourth starter. Frankie Montas and Domingo Germán would be the top candidates to round the rotation out.

The Yankees already earned a huge offseason win by retaining American League MVP Aaron Judge on a nine-year, $360 million contract. Adding Rodón would be a massive victory for a team looking to break through to the World Series for the first time since 2009.

What else do the New York Yankees have up their sleeve?

It appears the team isn't done making moves after re-signing superstar and reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge to a nine-year, $360 million contract.

"They are in on Carlos Rodon, but then I heard that there's something even bigger that they're working on," Michael Kay said on his show Friday.

The assumption will be that if the Yankees are pursuing a bigger fish than Rodon left on the market, it will be star shortstop Carlos Correa.

ESPN's Buster Olney hinted as much, saying on 95.7 The Game's Willard and Dibs that he's "definitely picking up a lot of vibes" the Yankees are "working on something big" in regards to Correa.

The Yankees already have Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop and a pair of highly regarded prospects at the position in Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza, so it hasn't appeared to be the team's biggest need this offseason.

There's no doubt that Correa would be an immediate upgrade, however.

The 28-year-old, a two-time All-Star, hit .291 with 22 homers, 64 RBI, 70 runs and a .834 OPS. It was his sixth season with at least 20 home runs, excellent production for a player at a defensively-key position.

Retaining Judge and landing Correa in the same offseason would be a huge splash for the Yankees, even if it's arguable that adding a left-fielder is a more pressing need and stockpiling starting pitchers on Rodon's level is never a bad idea.

Regardless of how the Yankees continue to approach free agency, it doesn't appear as though the Judge signing will slow them down this winter.

"We have a lot of aspects of the roster that we need to address," Cashman told reporters on Wednesday. "There's other aspects of the roster we're trying to address and we'll continue to do so. We're on the clock. We'll obviously give [manager Aaron Boone] the best players so he can have the best team and he can do with it what he wants when spring training starts."

The Boston Red Sox have a huge hole to fill after losing star shortstop Xander Bogaerts to the San Diego Padres. Fortunately, the team can pivot by pursuing one of the best free agents remaining on the market.

Carlos Correa, who spent the 2022 season with the Minnesota Twins after playing the first seven years of his major-league career with the Houston Astros, would be a more-than-suitable replacement for Bogaerts in Boston's infield. He also has a strong relationship with Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was Houston's bench coach during its World Series championship run in 2017.

As one of the more popular names in this year's free-agent class, Correa won't have a shortage of suitors. The Red Sox will face a ton of competition for the 28-year-old, and the team's recent spending habits indicate it's not looking to break the bank.

Bogaerts left for San Diego for a reported $280 million deal over 11 years. The four-time All-Star was considered the face of the franchise, but Boston deemed him too expensive and let him walk. Correa, who is younger and a better defender than Bogaerts, will likely command a similar price or higher.

If the Red Sox are looking for a cheaper option, they could turn to Atlanta Braves free-agent shortstop Dansby Swanson. The 28-year-old is coming off a career year in which he earned his first trip to the All-Star Game and first Gold Glove Award. Boston could look to offer him a short-term deal with a high average annual value in order to address other holes on its roster.

After shoring up their bullpen by signing closer Kenley Jansen on Wednesday, the Red Sox still need to add a reliable starting pitcher to its rotation. The team could look to bring back veteran Nathan Eovaldi, who is a free agent after spending the last four-plus years in Boston, but there are more attractive options on the open market.

Carlos Rodón is the best pitcher available and can be the ace of Boston's staff, but the question remains as to how much the team is willing to spend. Sean Manaea and Chris Bassitt are both dependable starters and would be strong additions to any rotation. Veterans like Corey Kluber and Noah Syndergaard would be cheaper, but riskier, players to target.

The Red Sox have finished last in the AL East twice in the last three years, so this offseason will be crucial to bucking that trend. Boston's front office would be wise to loosen the reins on spending in order to land a big-name player this year. If it doesn't, it runs the risk of further disappointing an already restless fan base.

The New York Yankees have "definite interest" in free-agent pitcher Carlos Rodón after securing a deal for Aaron Judge, according to Jack Curry of YES.

Re-signing Judge had been a priority for the Yankees, and the two sides agreed to a $360 million deal over nine years Wednesday, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The Yankees can turn their sights to improving the rotation, and they have confidence Rodón "has the mettle to succeed" in New York, per Curry.

Rodón spent last season with the San Francisco Giants after signing a two-year deal, finishing with a 14-8 record, 2.88 ERA and a league-high 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

He earned his second straight All-Star selection and finished sixth in voting for the National League Cy Young award. The left-hander finished fifth in voting for the American League Cy Young a year earlier with the Chicago White Sox.

The 29-year-old opted out of the final year of his contract last month, giving him a chance to earn a long-term deal. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Rodón wants a six-year contract at more than $30 million per year.

He could be a good fit for the Yankees, who are looking to add depth to the rotation alongside Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes. Another front-line starter may be what they need to get over the top after failing to reach the World Series despite six straight seasons of playoff appearances.

The market has a steep drop-off at the position if the Yankees don't land Rodón.

Proven veterans Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander have found new homes, while productive starters Taijuan Walker, José Quintana and Zach Eflin have also come off the market. Chris Bassitt and Japanese pitcher Koudai Senga are among the remaining options if New York can't sign Rodón.

It appears that the Pittsburgh Pirates may move outfielder Bryan Reynolds this offseason. The 28-year-old has requested a trade, though Pittsburgh has publicly pushed back against the idea of trading him.

"While it is disappointing, this will have zero impact on our decision-making this offseason or in the future," the Pirates said in a statement, per Jay Cohen of the Associated Press.

Pittsburgh's stance could quickly change, however. Reynolds doesn't have a long-term deal in place, and he is drawing interest in the trade market.

The New York Yankees were interested, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Absolutely no one should be surprised by New York's reported interest. However, it has probably gone out the window over the last 24 hours.

New York likely viewed Reynolds as a Plan B in the outfield in case it couldn't re-sign reigning home-run king Aaron Judge. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the San Francisco Giants had a huge offer, "believed to be [in the] $360M neighborhood," on the table for Judge.

San Francisco's offer was likely reason enough for New York to consider alternatives.

However, on Wednesday morning, news broke that Judge had agreed to a new deal with the Yankees. The news was first reported by MLB Network's Jon Morosi and confirmed by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

With New York almost certainly out of the mix, the Toronto Blue Jays become the most logical landing spot for Reynolds in a trade. Toronto is looking to build off of last year's 92-win campaign, and Reynolds is exactly the sort of up-and-coming star it could build around long-term.

According to Morosi, the Blue Jays are interested in making a deal:

As Morosi noted, a strong offer from Toronto may have to include the likes of pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann and infielder Orelvis Martinez. Parting with two young prospects would be difficult, but neither Tiedemann nor Martínez is well-positioned to make an impact this season.

Reynolds could make an immediate impact. He's a strong outfielder and solid at the plate. An All-Star in 2021, he finished this past season with a .262 batting average, 27 home runs and 62 RBI.

According to Morosi, the Blue Jays are looking for a hitter who can switch at the plate. Reynolds can do exactly that.

The other factor to consider is Reynolds' contract. He's due to earn just $6.75 million this season on an arbitration extension, according to Spotrac. That's low enough that Toronto could hypothetically add Reynolds and still chase one of the big-name free agents remaining on the market—perhaps a pitcher.

Noted sports agent Scott Boras recently spoke with Hazel Mae and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet to discuss Toronto's offseason priorities.

"I think their priority right now is to try to facilitate an advance on the offence,” Boras said. “As to what they"re going to do on pitching, I think they want to achieve (offensive upgrades) first."

Adding Reynolds could help upgrade the offense while leaving enough financial flexibility to approach the pitching market—a free-agent pool that still includes Carlos Rodón, Zack Greinke and Corey Kluber.

The big unknown is whether Pittsburgh is willing to accept a fair offer for Reynolds. It might hold out for an unreasonable trade package, or it could yet smooth things over and lock him up long-term. If the Pirates are willing to make a fair trade, though, adding Reynolds absolutely makes sense for the Blue Jays.

The Baltimore Orioles are reportedly among the teams pursuing free-agent pitcher Carlos Rodón.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the Orioles have joined the New York Yankees, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants in the mix for the lefty.

Rodón, who turns 30 on December 10, spent the 2022 season with the Giants. He went 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA and 1.03 WHIP while striking out 237 batters in 178 innings pitched.

The Mets are expected to be active in the free-agent pitching market after losing Jacob deGrom to the Texas Rangers. Heyman reported the Mets' top focus at the moment is Justin Verlander, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see them get more aggressive with Rodón in the aftermath of deGrom's departure.

The Yankees have been more intently focused on Rodón as they attempt to shore up their rotation behind Gerrit Cole. It's likely they will lose Jameson Taillon to the open market this winter, and Rodón would be a significant upgrade in that rotation slot. The Yankees also remain intently focused on retaining AL MVP Aaron Judge.

The Orioles are coming off a solid 83-79 season and could see the playoffs on their horizon if they find consistency in the rotation. Baltimore finished 21st in starter ERA last season, and Jordan Lyles was the only starter who topped 150 innings pitched.

Rodón has some major injury concerns—the 2022 season was the first time since 2016 he'd topped 150 innings—but his top-of-the-rotation stuff is undeniable. Landing him would be a major coup for the Orioles and would strike a blow to the rival Yankees' offseason plans.