Chicago White Sox should consider Carlos Rodon after lockout

The Chicago White Sox has some really nice starting pitchers. Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, and Lance Lynn are locked to be in the rotation for 2022. Michael Kopech is going to make his transition back to the rotation after his bullpen stint in 2021 as he came back from injury. Dallas Keuchel and Reynaldo Lopez figure to be involved as well.

Unfortunately, Carlos Rodon is a free agent and many other teams are looking at him. He has some injury history that is making some teams pause but he can be elite when he is healthy and on his game. His high-velocity fastball and devastating breaking stuff combine to fool most hitters that he sees on a start-by-start basis.

Rodon was the fifth-place finisher for the American League Cy Young Award. That is because of his 13-5 record, 2.37 ERA, and 0.957 WHIP. He also threw 185 strikeouts in 132.2 innings over 24 starts. All of this resulted in a 5.0 WAR on the season.

He probably would have won the Cy Young Award if he kept up these numbers over 32 starts. Arm soreness cost him and he missed a fair amount of time getting back in time for the playoffs. Every team in the league would benefit from a healthy Rodon.

The Chicago White Sox should really consider bringing back Carlos Rodon.

Of course, Major League Baseball has locked its players out right now. Rodon cannot sign a contract with a team until they are unlocked again. He should, with Scott Boras as his agent, get a very lucrative contract because he was so good in 2021. He finally lived up to being drafted third overall and will be compensated well for it.

When the lockout is over, Rodon and the White Sox should work something out. They have been good to each other off the field for a long time and they were rewarded for it. Nobody wants to see Rodon pitch for someone like the Chicago Cubs or New York Yankees. He belongs on the south side of Chicago so each side should strongly consider it.

Rodon is also a major comeback story. He was not very consistent to begin his career. He was solid early on when Chris Sale and Jose Quintana were still there but injuries and the rebuilding team have caused him to be suspect up until this year. The White Sox let him go after 2020 but then took a chance on bringing him back in 2021. The loyalty worked out for both sides and we can only hope it happens again.