Hal Steinbrenner wasn’t the only one negotiating with Carlos Rodon during his free agency.
Earlier this month, Yankee fans found Rodon’s Venmo account and started contributing to it, mostly in $5-$10 amounts in an attempt to convince him to come to The Bronx.
It began on Rodon’s 30th birthday and eventually included several hundred contributors.
Rodon noticed and began returning the money.
“It was a nice gesture,’’ Rodon wrote in a message to the contributors after the campaign started. “Now I have to give all these people their money back hahaha.”
After being introduced as a Yankee in The Bronx on Thursday after signing a six-year, $162 million deal, the left-hander said he and his family had found a good cause for the rest of the donations.
Rodon said his cousin recommended donating the money to a worthy cause for the holidays.
That turned into Rodon and his family finding a new place to live for a child and his family in Indiana whose house burned down.
“[They] don’t have home insurance, so they’ve gotten set up with a house and some living situations,’’ Rodon said. “Obviously, it’s the holiday season, so we’re going to do something nice for the kid.”