New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner’s admission last week that the current $300 million payroll is not “sustainable” has got people thinking: What will the Yankees do to trim salary, especially if they want to also fit Juan Soto within their constraints?
Turning to youth in lieu of veterans is the easiest call, and that includes letting second baseman Gleyber Torres walk when he hits free agency. He is earning $14.2 million this season, and the Yankees have several prospects who are close to MLB-ready.
But there’s another creative (and not so obvious) way to free up a chunk of salary, according to The New York Post’s Joel Sherman on his “The Show” podcast Tuesday, and that could involve Carlos Rodón.
“By the way, you know Robbie Ray was traded in the offseason as a hurt pitcher with a lot of years left,” Sherman told co-host Jon Heyman. “If Carlos Rodón has this kind of year, he becomes probably a tradable player if they want to open up that kind of salary slot and they think that the other four guys plus (Gerrit) Cole moving forward could be the rotation. So I think they’ll have some ability to move, create finances in the offseason, understanding what Soto means to today’s team and the brand and winning.”
After an ugly first year with the Yankees in 2023 in which he posted a 6.85 ERA in 64 1/3 innings, Rodón has revitalized himself in Year 2, recording a 2.95 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 61 innings. He is part of a major league-leading rotation that has a 2.73 ERA, all without Cole, their ace.
Sherman and Heyman don’t think the Yankees should need to pare down their payroll, but Sherman believes that the Yankees may look at the depth of their rotation (Cole, Rodón, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, Nestor Cortes) in the offseason and view Rodón as an asset. He could provide salary relief in their pursuit of Soto, who has transformed the Yankees lineup and helped them to a 37-19 record.
While he is only in the second year of a six-year, $162 million deal, Rodón to this point in 2024 has at least made himself a consideration in this kind of plan.
Ray was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the San Francisco Giants in January in the third year of a five-year, $115 million deal and while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, proving anything is possible.
