CHICAGO — Carlos Rodon has a future ticketed for the front end of the Chicago White Sox’s starting rotation, but before he gets there, he’ll spend some quality time in the bullpen.
The left-handed Rodon, the White Sox’s hard-throwing top prospect, was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on Monday and will start his major-league career as a reliever. There’s precedent for such a move by the White Sox, as current ace Chris Sale and former ace Mark Buehrle — both lefties — started their big-league careers in the same way.
Each used their time in the bullpen to continue sharpening their pitch repertoires and get used to pitching in the majors. Once they were ready, they went to the front of the rotation. That’s the tentative plan for Rodon too, after the White Sox drafted him third overall last summer out of North Carolina State.
“Really this is about him forcing the issue in terms of what’s best for his development,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said, prior to his team’s 4-3 comeback win Monday against the Cleveland Indians. “Second, and perhaps almost as important, is it makes us stronger, makes us better. We still view this kid as a potential long-term fixture for us in the rotation. We had been unwavering on that since the day we drafted him. The one thing we kept talking about in spring is we weren’t quite sure what the path was going to be. Obviously, now the path is going to be through this bullpen.”
Hahn said Rodon started using his changeup more last season once he signed and started pitching his way through the White Sox’s minor-league system. He continued working that pitch in with his mid-90s fastball and devastating slider in spring training, and kept it up in two starts with Charlotte, where he went 1-0 and struck out 13.
Hahn believes the changeup will eventually complement the other offerings so well that Rodon could quickly become one of the top pitchers in his already-impressive rotation. The only question is when that will happen?
“We are going to learn from our history of being able to do that with Chris (Sale), and Mark Buehrle before him, in terms of getting him to the rotation at some point in the not-too-distant future,” Hahn said. “To answer that next question, there
is no specific date. There is no date on anyone’s calendar when he’s going to be in the rotation. We just know ultimately he’s going to wind up there.”
Rodon wasn’t the only addition the White Sox made to their bullpen Monday, as they also reinstated right-hander Jake Petricka (right forearm strain) from the 15-day disabled list. Petricka, 26, saved 14 games last season as a rookie and gives manager Robin Ventura another high-velocity option in the late innings.
“Getting Jake back is big,” Ventura said. “You were counting on him being a big part of the middle of the bullpen. So, you get a guy back that you kind of figure what he would be doing, it just makes sense of how they all work together. It’s more of a complete bullpen when he’s here with us.”