New York Yankees fans throw their support behind magazine cover mocking ace Carlos Rodon

As the player who represented one of the biggest offseason moves for the New York Yankees, expectations were sky-high for Carlos Rodon to be one of the jewels of the rotation. However, virtually nothing has gone as planned for the southpaw this year.

Last season, as a member of the San Francisco Giants, Rodon posted a 14-8 record alongside a 2.88 ERA. These serious numbers inspired Yankees GM Brian Cashman to unload a massive 6-year, $162 million contract, which was duly accepted.

However, after missing the first two months of the season with an injury that was originally meant to be "day-to-day", the patience of Yankees fans started to run thin. When he finally made his debut on July 7, he surrendered a pair of earned runs in five innings against the Cubs and was subsequently credited with his first loss.

After another loss in Colorado on July 14, Carlos Rodon got the ball against the Los Angeles Angels on July 19. By the second inning, Rodon had given up a pair of two-run shots and was pulled after 4.1 innings of work.

On the heels of his most recent loss, the 30-year-old has an ERA of 7.36. True to form, the NY Post pulled no punches with its cover on July 20.

Many New York Yankees fans, who were exhausted by Rodon's injury, feel that the cover is appropriate. The image features Rodon blowing a kiss to a heckling fan following Taylor Ward's moonshot in the first. Although some thought the cover was in poor taste, others shared that they thought it was a great cover:

Carlos Rodon's forearm injury, sustained in free agency, was a strange one. Constant lack of clarity and successive delays in his rehab hurt Brian Cashman's popularity with fans.

Rodon announced his injury around the same time that Frankie Montas, a pitcher acquired from the Oakland Athletics last season, revealed that he would need season-ending surgery.

This season, Yankees starters have a cumulative ERA of 4.36. While the number places them in the exact middle when it comes to the league-wide stats, the team's hitting has witnessed a near-total implosion since captain Aaron Judge hit the IL on June 4. Notably, the club is currently last in the AL East.

Carlos Rodon is another cautionary contractual tale

Prior to the 2022 season, Carlos Rodon had a career ERA of 3.79 and a BB/9 of 3.6. While these numbers are not terrible, it would arguably be a difficult task to convince anyone that they are worthy of a $162 million deal.

Cashman, judging by Rodon's one year of success with the San Francisco Giants, may have learned the hard way on this deal.

About the author

Adrian Dorney is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda. Having worked over five years in the industry, Adrian strives to combine statistical analysis with the human side of baseball reporting. Since a lot of his briefs involve publishing content with urgency, he has perfected a process involving a combination of trustworthy sources and assessment with intuition.

His lifelong tryst with baseball began with growing up in Toronto and watching the Blue Jays regularly. His favorite player is Baltimore Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., and Jose Bautista's go-ahead home run in 2015 ALDS Game 5 remains his favorite baseball memory to date.

When not working, Adrian is constantly looking to learn new things and he also loves playing golf and chess.

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