Back where it all started: Rodon gets kick out of Cactus League appearance vs. White Sox
GLENDALE, Ariz. - After pitching for the White Sox for the past seven years, Carlos Rodon pitched against them Thursday afternoon at Camelback Ranch.
"It's funny," said Rodon, who is now wearing a San Francisco Giants uniform. "Making that first start over here and bringing it home. I haven't been here in a year. It was cool. Some laughs, a little junk talk, but it was fun."
Before the Cactus League game, Tim Anderson said the Sox were "going to get" Rodon.
Leading off in the bottom of the first inning, Anderson promptly singled off his longtime teammate.
"I love it, I love it," Rodon said with a wide grin. "I've seen Tim do that 300-400 times. Sees a fastball away and boom, takes his hit. Just on a different side of it."
Leading off the second inning for the White Sox, Eloy Jimenez got a hanging changeup and hit a deep home run to center field. Rodon couldn't help cracking a smile as Jimenez rounded the bases.
"Hey man, playing the game," Rodon said after pitching 2⅔ innings in his Giants debut and allowing 1 run on 2 hits to go with 4 strikeouts. "It was fun. Changeup right there and he smoked it to center. Lot of power."
Rodon joined San Francisco as a free agent on March 11, signing a two-year, $44 million contract that includes an opt out at the end of this season.
Returning to the White Sox was an obvious option, and Rodon would have been thrilled to extend his career on the South Side.
"There were some talks," he said. "It's hard to leave an organization that you played your whole career for but it's part of the game. It's part of the business and you move on. I'm excited to be a Giant. This is a very, very good organization.
"They won 108 games last year. It's good to be part of a contender, leaving a contender. I'm lucky to be with this organization and be with a good group of guys. And playing with the White Sox was a pleasure as well."
Selected by the Sox with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft, Rodon had shoulder and elbow surgeries and never achieved optimal health.
Even last year, when he went 13-5 with a 2.37 ERA, pitched a no-hitter, made the American League all-star team and had 185 strikeouts in 132⅔ innings, the 29-year-old lefty had shoulder issues during the second half of the season.
That's the main reason the White Sox were OK with Rodon exiting as a free agent, but they will miss him in the rotation.
"In the first part of (last) year, our pitching was really outstanding," Sox manager Tony La Russa said. "He was light's out, did a great job for us. I'm really happy he's not in our league, that means I can pull for him. We all appreciate what he did."
After making $3 million last season, Rodon cashed in big this year.
"It's definitely life changing," he said. "Try to do well with all that money. The Lord has blessed me and my family with that money and there are a lot of good things we can do with what the Giants have given us. As a kid you don't understand, you just want to play baseball. And then you start understanding the business when you get into professional baseball.
"There's only so much a team can do. It's not like they didn't want me on their team, the Sox wanted me. And I gladly would have come back but sometimes you have to explore other options."