Three days after declining Joely Rodríguez’s $3 million option for 2022, the Yankees announced they have in fact signed the reliever for the 2022 season.
Upon declining the option, the Yankees owed the lefty $500,000 – this deal is worth $2 million, per Joel Sherman of the Post, so the Yankees wound up saving the same amount of money that they originally bought out Rodríguez for.
With the deal. the Yankees are keeping one of their most reliable arms down the stretch.
The Yankees took a flier on Rodríguez when he came to the Yankees with Joey Gallo from Texas. At the time of the trade, Rodriguez had a 5.93 ERA (18 earned runs/27.1 innings), but with New York, he found something, and allowed just six earned runs in 19.0 innings (2.94 ERA). He quickly found himself in high-leverage spots, partly due to injuries and poor performances from others, but nonetheless, Rodríguez was key late in the season.
Rodríguez appeared in 38 games for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016 and 2017 before being traded to Texas. He then signed with the Baltimore Orioles as a minor-league free agent, and then played in Japan in 2018 and 2019. He signed a two-year deal with Texas prior to the 2020 season.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].