White Sox optimistic Rodon healthy enough for playoffs

Posted October 04, 2021 7:00 am

By ANDREW SELIGMAN

CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago White Sox think pitcher Carlos RodÃ³n will be healthy enough to help them in the playoffs after the All-Star left-hander was limited down the regular-season stretch.

'œWe remain optimistic that he's going to be able to contribute over the course of the next month,'ť general manager Rick Hahn said Monday. 'œObviously, given the amount of work that he has endured this season, the jump from the previous years, his strength and comfort and general level of soreness and fatigue is something that we continue to monitor.'ť

Hahn said RodÃ³n will only pitch once during the best-of-five division series against the AL West champion Houston Astros that begins Thursday. If the White Sox advance, they'll evaluate his workload on a series-by-series basis. He is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Tuesday.

RodÃ³n has a history of arm and shoulder injuries and threw just 28 innings over the final two months of the regular season. But he also played a big role as the White Sox ran away with the AL Central title at 93-69. They beat Cleveland by 13 games and finished with their highest win total since the 2005 World Series championship team went 99-63.

RodÃ³n set a career high for wins in going 13-5 with a 2.37 ERA and made his first All-Star team. His 24 starts and 132 2/3 innings are the most for him since 2016, well beyond his totals in the previous two years combined.

'œWhat shouldn't be lost in all this is we're sitting here today as the division champs thanks in large part to Carlos' contribution over the course of the last six months,'ť Hahn said. 'œHe along with our training staff and coaches I think deserve a world of credit for putting him in a position to succeed and demonstrate to the the world what he's capable of doing when he's fully healthy. Obviously, down the stretch here we had to be cognizant of the workload, how Carlos was feeling, and adjusted.'ť

Hahn said Lance Lynn or Lucas Giolito will start Game 1 at Houston on Thursday. He also said slugger JosÃ© Abreu has been dealing with a 'œnon-COVID illness'ť since Saturday, but should be full go for the series.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Chicago White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon throws against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.