The White Sox will not see Rodon or Mercedes this weekend

The Chicago White Sox were off on Thursday so they couldn’t lose which is nice. However, they are back at it again on Friday and they have the San Francisco Giants who are a really good baseball team trying to keep pace in an awesome division.

In 2021, the Giants ended as the best team in baseball with 107 wins. They fell in the playoffs in a winner-take-all game-five against the Los Angeles Dodgers but they were very proud of their somewhat unexpected 100+ win season.

They aren’t quite that good this year but who is ever really that good for two years in a row? At 40-34, they go into the weekend below the playoff line but they are right there in the National League. They are in third place in the NL West and trail the Dodgers by 6.0 games.

They are also 4.5 games behind the San Diego Padres for second in the division. As far as the Wild Card, they trail the St. Louis Cardinals by 1.0 games so it is going to be a grind for them all season long. They are 3-7 in their last ten and the White Sox are hoping to take advantage of their slump.

As far as pitching, the White Sox are going to use Lance Lynn, Dylan Cease, and Lucas Giolito in this series. They will face Alex Cobb, Logan Webb, and Anthony DeSclafini of the Giants over the three-game set. For the most part, it is an even playing field in terms of starting pitching.

The Chicago White Sox won’t be seeing any of their old friends this weekend.

The thing is, none of those pitchers for the Giants are named Carlos Rodon. The former White Sox All-Star is a member of the San Francisco rotation after singing there over the winter. He pitched a few days ago and will not make a start against his old friends in this one.

It is a shame that Rodon wasn’t brought back. He was magnificent in 2021 which was the first year that he was both developed and healthy at the same time. It was an odd choice not to at least extend him a qualifying offer. Now, he gets to donate with them instead.

Yermin Mercedes was claimed by the Giants earlier in June but he won’t be facing the White Sox either. He did see some time in MLB again but was soon sent back to AAA so he won’t be facing his old mates either which is unfortunate.

Regardless of who is on the other side though, the White Sox need to win these games. The star bats need to contribute some offense in order to get it done as the pitching is something of a strong suit for the Sox. It is hard to call an early July series a must-win but this feels like it.