Joe Camporeale | USA TODAY Sports

Carlos Rodon was formally introduced at Yankee Stadium on Thursday morning and is already a perfect fit without having thrown a pitch.

The big lefty spoke to the media and reiterated not only how much he wanted to be a Yankee, but how much he wanted to win.

“Winning’s been at the top of my list as a player,” Rodon said. “As we know, it’s the Yankee way.”

He’s not wrong. Winning is the name of the game in New York. So much that after a 99-win season and trip to the ALCS, Yankees fans made #FireCashman trend on Twitter. Such is the city’s wrath when the World Series trophy doesn’t live in the Bronx full-time.

Rodon clearly knows this. The “man of few words,” as he described himself in his press conference, is here to pitch well and win games. He wants a World Series and to represent the Yankees while winning one. If ace Gerrit Cole is the jab, then Rodon is the secondary ace and knockout punch.

We’ve covered this before but in a way, Carlos Rodon was born to be a Yankee. He’s clearly ready to embrace the pressure of playing in sports’ biggest media market. He didn’t wax poetic about how much he loves New York or how much he wanted to be a Yankee from a young age. There was no sentimentality like when Gerrit Cole brought out the old yellowed sign he brought to a Yankee game as a child.

Rodon cares about one one thing: winning.

No, Rodon understands that he signed with the Yankees with one intention: win. He checks all the boxes too, namely his 1.55 career ERA against the rival Houston Astros. Additionally, his devotion to his craft makes him a perfect fit with Cole and the rest of the rotation.

Keep in mind, Rodon and Cole aren’t the only Yankees with this mindset. Aaron Judge committed to being a Yankee for the rest of his career because he wants to win, and now he gets to do so as team captain. Anthony Rizzo grew up a Yankees fan and re-signed with New York in free agency. This after players were allegedly put off by New York fans booing everyone after the Yankees were swept in the ALCS.

Let’s call this report what it actually is: a nothingburger. Players want to come to New York to win, to compete, and to hopefully win a championship along the way. Rodon is just the latest example, and fans should brace themselves for an exciting season.

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Josh Benjamin has been a staff writer at ESNY since 2018. He has had opinions about everything, especially the Yankees and Knicks. He co-hosts the “Bleacher Creatures” podcast and is always looking for new pieces of sports history to uncover, usually with a Yankee Tavern chicken parm sub in hand.