White Sox trying to blend young talent into the mix

It hasn't shown on the field or in the standings so far, but the White Sox were built to contend for the playoffs this season.

After a second straight disappointing showing in 2014, general manager Rick Hahn added veteran players like David Robertson, Jeff Samardzija, Adam LaRoche, Melky Cabrera and Zach Duke in the off-season.

The new veterans and younger core of holdovers like Jose Abreu and Chris Sale have not yet consistency clicked, but there is still plenty of time for the Sox to gain some traction.

Heading into Friday night's game at Oakland, the White Sox had won three straight series and were starting to gain some confidence.

The White Sox roared back to defeat the A's 7-6.

Trailing 6-2 after the sixth, the White Sox rallied for 5 runs in the seventh inning.

Melky Cabrera started the comeback with an RBI single and LaRoche and Avisail Garcia followed with 2-run doubles.

How far the Sox run this season also depends on the ability of players to come up from the minor leagues and contribute to the cause.

"There's a balance," Hahn said earlier this week in Milwaukee.

"It's important for us to build something sustainable to introduce our own young talent on a pretty much annual basis. The Braves did that on that long run of theirs, every year adding a homegrown piece that became a mainstay to their core as it evolved. That's where we want to get to.

"We anticipate and hope we're going to follow a model like that and have our own homegrown talent integrated in. At no point do we expect those guys to carry the load, so to speak."

Hahn was specifically talking about second baseman Micah Johnson, who was optioned back to Class AAA Charlotte on Thursday for more seasoning, and Carlos Rodon, who made his second start of the season for the White Sox on Friday night.

Rodon has the skills to develop into a front-end starter, but it is a process.

Staked to an early lead against Oakland when the Sox scored 2 runs in the first inning off A's starter Jesse Hahn, Rodon ran into some big trouble in the fourth.

After yielding a leadoff home run to former White Sox catcher Josh Phegley, Rodon got the first out of the inning before issuing 3 straight walks.

The rookie left-hander struck out another former Sox, shortstop Marcus Semien, but Josh Reddick cleared the bases with a triple.

Rodon pitched 4 innings and allowed 5 runs on 5 hits and 6 walks. He also had 5 strikeouts.

LaRoche drove in the White Sox' first run when he drew a bases-loaded walk off Hahn in the first inning and Conor Gillaspie followed with an RBI single.