Giants reportedly sign LHP Carlos Rodon to 2-year, $44 million deal

Carlos Rodon, the left-handed starting pitcher formerly of the Chicago White Sox, has a new home.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the San Francisco Giants have signed Rodon to a two-year, $44 million contract that contains an opt-out after the first year.

Rodon, 29, had spent all seven years of his MLB career with the White Sox before hitting free agency this offseason. Before 2021, he was an average pitcher who had racked up a career 4.14 ERA and dealt with persistent injuries that had limited him in most of his MLB seasons. In the Covid-shortened 2020 season, he appeared in just four games after missing most of the 60-game season with shoulder issues.

Then 2021 rolled around. While he dealt with shoulder soreness and fatigue throughout the second part of the season, he pitched like gangbusters. He started 24 games, the most since his 2016 season, and ended the year with a 2.37 ERA over 132.2 innings — his lowest ERA since his 2015 rookie year. Before 2021, that was the only season he finished with an ERA below four.

Rodon's significant uptick in efficiency over the 2021 season has resulted in a huge payday. He's being paid $22 million to pitch for the Giants in 2022, a massive raise from his previous salaries. He made $3 million last year on a one-year deal, and made just under $4.5 million in 2020. In fact, he'll make more in 2022 than he has made in his entire seven-year career.

In San Francisco, Rodon will join Logan Webb, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood, and Alex Cobb in the starting rotation. They will not be throwing to catcher Buster Posey, who retired after last season, but in a way he made the Rodon deal possible: Posey was due $22 million in 2022, exactly the same amount Rodon is being paid.