Just minutes after president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi left a Zoom meeting with local media, he dropped the first major pin on what promises to be an MLB free agency to remember.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Giants are signing free agent starter Carlos Rodón to a two-year $44 million deal that includes an opt-out after 2022. Rodón, who finished fifth in American League Cy Young voting in 2021, was one of the top starting pitchers available on the open market.
Starting pitching depth was a priority for the Giants, and the Rodón signing signals they were serious in fulfilling it.
If healthy, Rodón solves a major need for San Francisco: an ace-adjacent level pitcher to pair with Logan Webb. The southpaw went 13-5 with a 2.37 ERA for the White Sox in his first All-Star season last year. He also no-hit Cleveland in April, coming two outs away from a perfect game.
Coming off that type of season and theoretically entering his prime, Rodón could make the short-term contract he signed look like a bargain. But he has a troubling injury history that drove his price down.
In his career, Rodón has suffered a sprained wrist, bicep bursitis, shoulder inflammation and Tommy John surgery. Though he started 24 games in 2021 — his most since 2016 — a shoulder injury sidelined him for three weeks in August and hurt his effectiveness in the postseason.
Zaidi has always viewed the rotation not as a group of five starters, but rather as a way to get 162 games started. Regardless of his philosophy, San Francisco has a rotation that should rival any in the National League West: Rodón, Logan Webb, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Alex Cobb.
