Well, the Chicago White Sox added their extra starting pitcher. Carlos Rodon is coming back after non-tendering him earlier in the winter. He is going to have a chance to salvage his White Sox career as it hasn’t gone as well as he would have liked so far. He has a lot of talent but injuries and situations have not allowed him to take it to the next step. Hopefully, this is something that will allow him to finally reach his potential.
Carlos Rodon will be a back-end Chicago White Sox starter if he plays well.
The Chicago White Sox rotation is a lot different from when he was first drafted. When he first came up, it looked like he had ace potential pitching behind Chris Sale and Jose Quintana. Well, now he is being brought back as an option for the back end of their rotation. With a three-headed monster like Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, and Dallas Keuchel ahead of him the pressure is off.
He will be competing with guys on his own team for playing time. The White Sox hope that Michael Kopech and Dylan Cease are able to take the next step. If that happens, they will have five really great starting pitchers. That would allow Rodon to find his game in the bullpen. If they take a bit more time to develop, Rodon could be a decent innings eater if he stays healthy.
Speaking of staying healthy, that is not something that Rodon has done well in his career. A lot of people believe that is one of the main reasons he was never able to live up to his draft status and potential. Hopefully, he is able to stay healthy, play well, and help this team win hockey games.
Carlos Rodon goes back to White Sox, pending physical.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 30, 2021
This signing sort of came out of nowhere. We have heard all offseason after the Lynn trade that they are going to still look for one more cheap back-end starter but Rodon coming back seemed like something that wasn’t going to happen. It might not be appealing to some fans but it is better to have a pitcher who knows what to expect from the team and city than someone with the same talent level who doesn’t know those things. This is a low risk/high reward move for the White Sox right now.