White Sox starting pitcher Carlos Rodon is heading to the fifteen-day disabled list after spraining his wrist. Rodon suffered the injury after tripping on the dugout stairs on his way to the field for the national anthem before Friday’s game against the Atlanta Braves.
"Rodon suffered the injury after he “slipped on to the field and tried to catch myself” he told Scott Merkin of WhiteSox.Com. Rodon related that the experience was humbling ” “I’m not going to lie, I was a little embarrassed. I was like, ‘I hope no one saw that.’ I got out there and was like just laughing when the anthem was going on. I came back in and sat down and I was like, ‘All right, this kind of hurts a little bit.”"
Rodon said that the wrist didn’t swell and that after an X-Ray the doctor diagnosed the injury as a sprain. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Rodon will have his wrist in a brace for the next seven to ten days. White Sox manager Robin Ventura told the Chicago Sun-Times that Rodon will not throw during the All-Star break. He will miss one start and have to make a rehab start. He was placed on the D.L. retroactive to July 6th. He will be eligible to come off the D.L. July 21.
"Ventura added:“It’s unfortunate…Hopefully it’s not going to be anything that lingers past these two weeks. It’s something you deal with it and somebody else is going to have to fill his spot when we start back up after the break.”"
It’s been a brutal week for Rodon. He gave up five earned runs on 12 hits and three walks in the White Sox 9-0 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday. That raised his ERA from 4.24 to 4.50. He went into his June 30 start against Minnesota with a 4.09 ERA. He struggled against the Twins too, giving up four earned runs in 5.2 innings
Rodon has had an inconsistent season. He has ten quality starts this year but has given up 28 earned runs for an 8.21 ERA in his other six starts. The second year lefthander has had control issues. He has walked 32 hitters in 92 innings this season. Add in 109 hits and Rodon has a 1.53 WHIP. His career 1.47 WHIP is concerning. He had a 1.31 WHIP in the minors.
The White Sox recalled Tommy Kahnle from Charlotte to take Rodon’s place on the roster. This is the fourth time the White Sox have recalled Kahnle this season. He pitched well in his first three appearances. His first appearance came April 29 before being sent back to Charlotte. He returned May 24.
Kahnle pitched 3.1 innings in his first three appearances without giving up a hit and had an.182 ops against. In his last two appearances, Kahnle gave up three earned runs and a 1.53 OPS against.
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Scott Carroll, Tyler Danish and Anthony Ranaudo have been mentioned as those most likely to take Rodon’s spot in the rotation. The White Sox 2015 first round pick Carson Fulmer is unlikely to get the spot start. He is viewed as a major league reliever at this point of his career.