The White Sox announced Wednesday that they’ve placed lefty Carlos Rodon on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Aug. 8, due to left shoulder fatigue. Right-hander Matt Foster is up from Triple-A Charlotte to take his spot on the active roster. Chicago also announced that catcher Yasmani Grandal, who’s been out since early July after undergoing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his knee, will begin a minor league rehab assignment with Double-A Birmingham.
Rodon, 28, had been lined up to start tomorrow’s Field of Dreams game against the Yankees, but that start will now instead go to righty Lance Lynn. The South Siders haven’t provided a firm timeline for Rodon’s recovery, but manager Tony La Russa tells reporters he expects it to be longer than a minimum stint on the IL (Twitter link via ESPN 1000’s Connor McKnight). Notably, Rodon has a history of shoulder troubles. He underwent shoulder surgery back in 2017 and missed most of the 2020 campaign with shoulder pain as well.
The ChiSox have had the American League Central more or less wrapped up for quite some time now, so there’s little sense in rushing Rodon back. His absence won’t seriously hinder the team’s commanding 10.5-game lead in the Central, and the team’s focus is surely on making sure he’s at full strength to close out the regular season and play a pivotal role in the postseason rotation.
Rodon serving as a key to the Sox’ postseason starting staff would’ve seemed far-fetched, to say the least, not long ago. The White Sox non-tendered Rodon last December after a pair of injury-ruined seasons in 2019-20 that saw Rodon combine for a grisly 5.74 ERA in 42 1/3 frames.
That non-tender looked to end Rodon’s time with the Sox, but just shy of two months later, he returned on a one-year, $3MM deal. It wasn’t the most well-received signing in recent memory among White Sox fans, but Rodon has proved any naysayers wrong by not only rebounding to previous levels but instead rising to new heights entirely, as recently explored by MLBTR’s Anthony Franco.
The 2021 version of Rodon has been the overpowering ace that the Sox perhaps hoped he’d eventually become when selecting him with the No. 3 overall draft pick back in 2014. Through 19 starts this season, Rodon has pitched 109 2/3 innings of 2.38 ERA ball while fanning an outstanding 36.2 percent of his opponents against a very tidy 6.8 percent walk rate. He’s bumped his average fastball velocity to a career-high 95.8 mph, fanned 10 or more hitters on five occasions and thrown a no-hitter that was very nearly a perfect game.
Along the way, Rodon has cemented himself as one of the team’s frontline starters, joining the aforementioned Lynn among the league’s more dominant hurlers. Rodon’s ERA is sixth-best among pitchers with at least 100 innings thrown — Lynn leads the way at 2.04 — and no pitcher in baseball has whiffed a higher percentage of his opponents (again, min. 100 innings pitched).
The injury shouldn’t impact the White Sox’ chances of reaching the postseason. However, Rodon himself would be best-served with a quick return to full strength, as he’s set to return to the free-agent market this winter. The dominance he’s shown to date should already position him for a hefty multi-year contract, but a lengthy absence may give teams some pause — particularly given the deep free-agent class and the number of alternative options on the market. He’ll already be viewed much differently than when the Sox cut him loose back in December, but a quick return and healthy finish would make for an even more bullish outlook.
Well that doesn’t sound good going into free agency
Rodon has 100 million dollars in his pocket this off-season without throwing another pitch.
I’d be surprised if he gets 100 million but I would guess it’s not too far off. I’d guess he maxes out at 4 years with most teams trying for 3. He was closer to a backend starter for most of his career and I’d think teams would take the breakout with a little skepticism especially with a new CBA likely giving owners and excuse to tighten their pocketbooks
With his injury history? No! He doesn’t.
Big, tall hard throwing lefty with former top 5 pick pedigree who just pitched like an ace. He’ll just have turned 29 this off-season. Scott Boras client to boot.
You say the amount and I’ll take the bet that he does.
Remember Zack Wheeler?
Wheeler made 60 starts in the two seasons leading up to his free agency; his case for 100+ was much stronger.
I wouldn’t be totally shocked to see Rodon get there if he comes back healthy, but he’s not getting $100MM+ if his season ends due to an early-August shoulder issue after 19 starts.
I don’t know, Steve. I’m inclined to believe he’ll get there.
I guess you set the floor at Eovaldi’s deal if this is really something that keeps him out. I think as long as he gets back on the hill at some point this year—-100 mil is a done deal.
With the way front offices value guys—-this is the one they’ll take a big gamble on, in my opinion of course.
It just takes one team.
Yep, only 1. That Wheeler deal is absolutely phenomenal right now too, FWIW. I remember he went down w a shoulder injury that season for a bit as well.
I like his chances.
Have to consider what teams are going to dump cash this off-season too.
I expect the Giants to spend a ton. Cohen’s going to drop more cash. Yankees could certainly use another TOR pitcher. ChiSox have some money to play with given their relatively inexpensive extensions. Red Sox should have some money to throw around. The Jays should as well. Arte may decide he finally needs to pay for an arm. Can’t count the Dodgers out, particularly if Bauer’s career is cooked.
Marlins have a ton of good arms but they don’t have a rotation ace yet. Maybe they decide to splurge on one. If Middleton makes the playoffs and doesn’t get to a series, does he have any more stupid money to spend? Maybe. Mariners are on track to be real competitive, real soon. They could be spending on pitching. Pads? Can’t say they definitely won’t spend more money. What do the Braves do?
Should be a crazy off-season. I’m excited to see what happens. None of that is really on topic but the thought of Rodon’s FA got me thinking here.
Usually I would believe Steve, but MLBTR has been way off in their predictions the last few offseasons, so I might take the contrarian view this time.
Also, the Cubs will have a ton of $ to spend also and need arms.
Im w Steve –
I’ll take the sub 100 mill bet from anyone who wants it
Gm’s look past the last 4 months
This guy was so fragile he had to accept a 1/3 at age 28 –
A 4/72 would be hitting it outta the park for him…I doubt he even get’s that w/out some team out’s along the way
Once guys show they’ve made a breakthrough they get paid.
Type of stuff GM’s salivate over.
baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/carlos-rodon-…
Everyone knows where I stand. If he’s healthy that 100 is in his wallet. If he’d come back and fire off another kind of year like this next year and re-enter the market. You’re looking at a 150+ million dollar kind of deal. I think a team takes the 100 million dollar gamble on him now.
Kevin Gausman was DFA’d, used in the bullpen, then took a QO. He’s going to be getting paid pretty well this year too.
Cubs? Hee Hee. Uh why would they pay top money for a FA starter when there’s no there there.
Cubs won’t find Rodon in any dumpster!
So Carlos not signing with the Lovable Losers!
The Cubs have sold off everyone they could and Contreras is probably the next to go either this offseason, or during next season. You just have to laugh. I mean on one side of Chicago, you have an owner everyone whines about (including some Cubs fans, interestingly enough)in terms of spending his money (Reinsdorf) and on the other side, the family that has money to burn on everything (Stadium, Buildings round said s tadium, and building their hotel/plaza, AND their own network to broadcast their games) BUT the actual team they had (Ricketts). The Cubs are in massive rebuild mod and they think they can do it again.. Time will tell I guess, but I think the Ricketts family think they can just tear it down every 4 years and their fan base will take it and still pay outrageous prices to go to the games..
Not if he’s hurt….. but I think he’s simply getting rest because he/his team can… He will finish top 5 in CY Young and should be one of the top pitchers on the market…. Fully recovered from Tommy John, he gets 100mil easy if he’s healthy
He hasn’t made it through a full season in like 6 years, has never made 30 starts in a year. He will of course need to throw another pitch for that kind of contract. October will be a stage for him to show what he’s worth. If he is not healthy enough to pitch, I don’t think he’s getting a massive contract from anybody. Having said that, I hope he’s ok and you would think he will be, but you never know with his history.
Less mileage on that Arm. He’s a young 29 🙂
Rodon has had injuries to his arm and had shoulder issues … Less mileage sure, but if the frame has damage that also factors into things…
Precautionary to rest Sox pitchers and to get a fresh arm from AAA
Agreed, and most Sox fans are not surprised. We all knew back with Sale that his stuff was just as electric, but his body was not. With Boris as his agent, the WS need all the leverage they can get, and this is it.
It’s not like the Indians or Tigers are going to rip the AL Central crown away from the ChiSox so a bit of rest before the Post is probably a good idea. Hopefully nothing serious.
If not for Trey Mancini, this guy would have Comeback Player in the bag. Hope he heals up quickly.
Realistically Rodon is the comeback player of the year. If you based it solely on performance. Trey had the story and the tougher road to make it back.
Can Rodon really be the comeback player, when he had never achieved anything in the past? Mancini has a level to come back to. Rondon’s bar is so low it would be easy to step over. He is a great story though.
@stymeedone
Breakout player would probably be more accurate than comeback player, but since MLB doesn’t have a Breakout Player Award, Rodon will most likely get the Comeback Player Award.
Though thinking about it, Vlad Jr would get the Breakout Player Award if they had one. But you get the point.
Kinda agree with this. Giolito won it tho, after putting in one of the most dismal pitching seasons in recent history a few years ago to being a Cy Young finalist the next year.
The young man that survived the suicide attempt should be in the running as well, but he didn’t make it back to the big leagues and decided to retire because of it. It was a great story, but there are no “sympathy recalls” in baseball.
who’s that?
No offense to Drew Robinson, but he wasn’t a very good player and his biggest claim to fame has been his activism. Hard to win comeback player, with nothing to comeback to. His failed suicide may ironically wind up being his best career move.
Rodon had pitched like a #3 in the past. Been a few years but he was there.
Mancini hasn’t been lighting it up recently and he’s only 13% above league average offensively right now. For a 1B/DH that’s not remarkable. He has plenty of time to heat up again and improve on that but without the story—I don’t think it’s mancini’s award. Not to minimize what he’s doing though. I’m an O’s fan and it’s remarkable to even come back at all. But Rodon has been dominant.
He hit a homer with one eye… no offense to Mancini, but Drew Robinson’s near death experience and athletic achievement seems even more intense… Mancini is one of many cancer survivors whereas Robinson’s comeback is unprecedented…. but it’s an MLB award? And his comeback was MILB?
What Drew has done is admirable.
However the 60% K rate, .115 batting average and .465 OPS would indicate he’s not really “back”.
It’s going to be interesting down the stretch. White Sox foolishly relying on a guy that hasn’t thrown over 140 innings in a season since 2016 and is constantly hurt to throw 160+ innings and help them win in the postseason. I predicted this back in May when Rodon was wheeling and dealing.
So what were they supposed to do? Shut Rodon down at 140 innings? That’s ridiculous. Its foolish to believe teams can prevent injuries. Injuries can happen at any time to any player. Chisox will still cruise to the division title at this point
They could have done like other teams and limited his pitch counts, skipped some starts, or even treated him like an opener for a game here and there. As you stated, CWS are cruising. No reason not to give him extra rest.
Seems like they are skipping his starts and resting him now (with a 10 game division lead)…. nothing about the report indicates that he needs to be shut down indefinitely or is in need of surgery
Huh? What is foolish about the season Rodon is having. I don’t understand your premise.
The White Sox have been very cautious with their starting rotation in 2021, like most every other team in the wake of last year’s shortened season. They have been overly protective in the second half, in part because of their huge division lead and also due to the fact that all of their starters aside from Dallas Keuchel have a ridiculously high SO% which naturally leads to more pitches per start.
Generally speaking, the White Sox have been giving each starter extra rest since early July. They have also monitored their workload more carefully which has resulted in a lot of 5-6 inning starts and more work for their bullpen which was thankfully improved with the deadline additions of Craig Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera.
@Aaron Sapoznik
Improving the pen has been huge for the Sox. My apologies if I’ve already posted this in the last week, but here it goes anyway:
I don’t know how well this would actually work, but the Sox could theoretically have 2 sets of late inning guys. You could have just as an example Crochet, Kopech, and Hendriks as the 7-8-9 one day, and Tepera, Bummer, and Kimbrel the next, and keep flipping back and forth.
Realistically it probably wouldn’t work because all it takes is a couple horrible outing by the SP’s to throw that all out of whack. But that would be interesting to try it out and see how it actually went.
Anyway, with the SP’s needing some rest the next month or so, it was huge turning what was mostly a weakness into a major strength.
Its a reason why Lopez may be making some spot starts this season. If he has finally figured out how not to bomb throw the order the third time around he may be good enough to eat up some innings.
TLR wants to rest his Starting Staff, hopefully this is just a way to manage his innings and keep him ready for the playoffs
Don’t buy the report. Looked awesome Saturday.
Just resting him. Sort a like the rest he got before Saturday.
Smart going into playoffs.
Could have skip his turn but why. Just put him on IL and bring up another guy.
If you read the article it clearly states that La Russa expects this to be longer than a minimum stay…..Perhaps you should read?
Here is what I read:
He flew back to Chicago and is being checked by doctors to determine if it’s something more serious than fatigue. The club doesn’t believe so.
“We’re hoping it’s just a short break and he’ll be back sooner rather than later,” La Russa said. “There’s nothing unusual about our concern.”
*Hard not to also consider this information within the context of the White Sox massive division lead*
Yeah, except it’s against the rules if he was put on IL without an actual injury.
everyone is dealing with nagging injuries at this point in the season. pretty easy to get around that rule without technically lying
“Shoulder fatigue” is enough of an injury to not violate the rules.
I certainly hope it’s Kopech taking that spot in the rotation and not Foster.
When has Matt Foster ever been a starting pitcher for the White Sox? Michael Kopech might not be sufficiently stretched out to assume a starting role anytime soon either aside from giving them a few innings as an opener. I’d imagine if the Carlos Rodon injury lingers then Kopech will be ramped up down the stretch and heading into the postseason. If that’s the case, then White Sox fans can especially thank the front office for pursuing closer Craig Kimbrel at the trade deadline.
As for an immediate starting pitcher, I’m guessing that assignment might go to one of Jimmy Lambert, Jonathan Stiever or perhaps even veteran journeyman Mike Wright Jr. who has been pitching the best at AAA Charlotte.
Lambert, Stiever and Wright Jr. possibly getting a few starts or at minimum several innings in August and September. I see Reynaldo Lopez getting couple starts too. I think Cease gets a break and maybe other guys skip a start or two as well.
Beginning of September bring up some arms for openers and use Lopez, Crochet & Kopech in couple multi inning outings.
Ooof, Mike Wright!
Absolute headcase. Pretty nice arm if he can get out of his own head.
He gave the White Sox AAA affiliate another strong outing last night. Wright’s numbers this season have been especially impressive considering the bandbox home field he pitches in at Charlotte. You can check out his numbers in comparison to the other pitchers including the starters with the following link: milb.com/charlotte-knights/stats/pitching?playerPo…
Yep. Wright’s always put up strong minor league numbers. If you watch him pitch—he paces on the back of the mound every time he gets in a jam. Really gets in his own head and ends up blowing up. Watched it happen for years in Baltimore. Wish him the best and maybe the time he spent in the KBO helped him out. CWS has the division locked up and it wouldn’t hurt a thing to give him a run out there.
@Ironballs If they did not have such a big lead and the games mattered, Kopech would take his spot. But I’m guessing it will be Lopez for a couple of starts, much as I cringe at the idea. He has been doing better, and didn’t give up any runs today. Big surprise since he was awful at AAA, but he has not only gotten good results but has a livelier fastball than he has had. I keep thinking he is going to get killed every time out but he keeps getting outs.
@jhomeslice
I agree.
These next two weeks will be the real test for Lopez. Yes, I am also pleasantly surprised by him so far, but he will now have to face some good lineups. If he pitches well these next couple of weeks, then I think I’ll be sold on him.
How Reyno does may also factor in whether the Sox take a pass on resigning Carlos in the off-season. Thinking if he commands crazy Boras money, the Sox will wisely move on.
Lopez is likely more a bullpen guy since he can never get through a lineup for a second and third time without getting blown up for runs. Every indication is that Kopech will be taking over that position in the rotation However with talks about 6 man rotations, having a guy like Rodon ensuring that everyone has less fatigue is interesting… .
No White Sox fan wants to hear the word shoulder and Rodon in the same sentence.
Yeah, this is not good. Rodon has been the Ace of this staff so far. If he’s not back by playoff time, I’m not confident they have enough pitching depth to win.
Dylan will need to step up big time. Keuchel shouldn’t see the light of day against any playoff lineup.
Keuchel can still be a long reliever or bridge the gap to the 6th inning should a starter get injured. With all the heat in that pen, having Keuchel as a slowdown could really screw with hitters’ timing. And he’s been done in by the 3rd time through the lineup, which wouldn’t happen if he were in the pen.
Keuchel walks to many batters, gives up HRs. If they’re using him in long relief in a postseason game, it’ll be a bad sign.
I wonder how they are going to handle Kuechels 170 inn vesting option next year that will trigger 23′ for 20 mill
They obv don’t want to trigger it but will they get shady?!
I would
Your forgetting some named lance Lynne. He’s been their ace, tho Rodon has still been incredibly good. And I seriously doubt Rodon will be out all the way thru the playoffs.
Rodon has been their best starter, statistically.
@Aaron Sapoznik
Amen to that!
IIRC Rodon had 8 games off due to the AS break and came out throwing 100mph.. My guess is his shoulder did not like that. How to what extent it did not that is for the doctors to explain. Hopefully his shoulder is just a bit angry and nothing is broken…
Fatigue makes a LOT of sense considering how his velocity’s been down lately.
Rodon has surpassed all expectations this season and why shouldn’t he be tired it’s August. Let him take a step back then fire him back up as the playoffs approach. LaRussa is what 106 years old so he just assumes everyone is tired all the time.
I just hope there’s no underlying injury. He was coming off of extra rest before his last start, so for him to be fatigued again is not good.
As long as he’s back by end of the month
They were just talking about this on the Score this morning. Big lead, why not have him get some rest with a phantom IL stint? Smart move by the Sox.
Shoulder fatigue? Quite possibly. In addition, a very comfortable lead and the opportunity to pull back innings on guys and set for six-eight weeks from now while giving exposure and time to other guys.
Agreed. He just dominated in his last start after 6 days off. He’s gonna be just fine.
Well they can get busted for doing that for one, and for two I would like to think the Sox would not toy with its fan base saying Rodon has a shoulder injury.. why not pick hip, or back issue?
Bad news. For my fantasy team.
Unless Lambert is hurt or has limited options left to come up/go down, he is a better choice to chew up some innings. Foster has been an unconfident mess since late last season. If they are really just saving Rodon for a few starts in mid to late Sept to be prime for playoffs, hope they don’t mess with Kopech’s pivotal role this year in the bullpen.
Kyle Kubat
Hopefully it’s nothing serious. I really am impressed by what he’s accomplished this season after all of his early career setbacks. Hopefully this isn’t another.
Get well soon Carlos.
Grandal is an interesting player. He has .188 Avg but .388 OBP this year. His May was remarkable. I think he was walked 29 times but only had 6 hits.
It’s the best bad season I’ve ever seen.
The best bad batting average…. He’s having a great season… also consider his statistics in context of his positional peers
That OBP is amazing considering the BA. His HR power is about where it usually is, maybe a tick better. His doubles are way down. SLG down a little from his career average, but down around 30 points from a few years ago. It’s amazing how big a difference walks make. Despite everything, this is his third-best OPS.
Even with those uneven numbers he is still light years better than Collins or Zavala.. Sox need him back, he was just starting to hit it well before the injury.
Honestly, if anyone believe this ten day DL for Rodon is something serious then he or she needs a reality check and realize this is just rest for him in this upcoming week. The White Sox have a tough schedule in the next three weeks with the Rays, Athletics and Blue Jays. It’s smart to sit Rodon down now to get some rest in the next week while saving him for that upcoming stretch against those teams.
Having a pitcher with a history of shoulder issues go on the IL is always a serious issue. They have already been giving him extra rest.
Agreed, if this was trying to game the system to get him rest one would think the Sox would say another part of the anatomy than ‘shoulder’
The tests said there is nothing wrong. A lot of pitchers miss a start or two due to “shoulder fatigue”. Let’s not forget it’s a long season and the White Sox basically have the division in their hands. There is no reason to over work Rodon if his shoulder is a little fatigue from pitching 19 games and 109.2 innings after this being his full season coming off Tommy John surgery.
No team wanted to give Rodon even $3 mil for 1 season. That’s how badly he pitched throught his career and how often he was injured.
He’s made 19 excellent starts this year and will now be on the injured list for weeks. We’ll see how he finishes up but I’d be stunned if any team guranteed this guy even 3 years and $60 mil.
I’m a Sox fan and I probably wouldn’t be happy if the Sox gave him that. He can’t be counted on to stay healthy and other than this season he’s been mediocre throught his career..
Other than this season however, he had never experienced/recovered from Tommy John surgery
Bummer for him as he’s been a great guy in the organization. But agree it’s too risky- esp w Michael and Garrett scheduled to step up.
Rodon has like 0.5 ERA with 6+ days rest.
TLR knows what he is doing.
What is the obsession with Matt Foster? That guy sucks. They need to call up Kyle Kubat. Getting him some MLB experience might come in handy too.
WS for whatever reason refuse to call up any soft-tossing LHP. If you don’ t throw 95+, you don’t get to audition for the team out of the bullpen.
What’s an MLB season without an arm injury to Rodon? Too bad-he was doing so well. I’m sure he will try to come back strong as his future depends on it.
As long as it’s not a serious issue, this could be a blessing in disguise for the Sox. I was concerned how effective Rodon would be for the Sox in late Sept/Oct if he had pitched the full season. As long as they can keep a healthy lead in the division and don’t get any more injuries to the rotation, I’d keep Rodon out for a while to keep him fresh for Oct.
They start their 2-week stretch of playoff hopefuls tomorrow (Yanks, A’s, Rays, Jays), so the lead could shrink if they play like they just did against the Twins and the Indians suddenly get hot. Stranger things have happened in baseball.
Changing the subject, I’m happy to see Grandal is going to his rehab assignment. That will be another welcome addition once he makes it back up.
That offense is so inconsistent. They look great for a couple games, then get shut down no matter how bad the SP they’re facing. To me, Moncada’s been the biggest disappointment so far. He’s not a bad hitter, he’s just not great this year. He shows flashes of brilliance from time to time, but he needs to do far more than that. He’s the one who really needs to get red hot.
Hopefully he recovers and it’s nothing serious. He proves that when healthy he can really Kick A—
Off the subject here (actually it would be relevant if Rodon was pitching tomorrow, like he was scheduled to), but good thing the Field of Dreams Game wasn’t tonight. I just glanced over and saw the weather map, and it looks like Dyersville, IA is getting pounded with a storm. Which would obviously explain why the game is scheduled for tomorrow instead of Friday.
It’ll be a twister Auntie Em nd both teams will end up in Oz!
Hopefully it’s just a two week thing. Rodon is huge in the rotation.
If it’s 2 weeks, I’ll definitely be at least a month as they may be closer to clinching by Labor Day, in which case they’ll definitely baby him
Man, who saw this coming, right? SOS when you got wicked stuff like he does, but this does worry me because this has been Rodon’s MO for years. However, this will help us with his agent during negotiations. I also do not see Rodon wanting to leave the White Sox for a number of reasons. Friends, Home, Championship potential and jis historical injuries. However, we will see. For now, let’s just see how serious his injury, IS NOW.