Rongey: White Sox will watch Rodon's innings

I do a show about White Sox baseball. You often ask me White Sox questions. Here are a couple of them:

• With Chris Sale and Jeff Samardzija each out at some point for a start, will Carlos Rodon get a chance? If so, will he stay in the rotation?

It's very likely - if not inevitable - that Rodon will break into the Sox' rotation within the next couple of weeks, depending on how the appeal process goes for Samardzija and Sale.

In the meantime, both guys will make their scheduled starts in Baltimore on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. The end result is that Rodon, I think, will end up starting one, if not two games, before Sale and Shark are done serving their suspensions.

Does that mean Rodon will be in the rotation to stay, thus supplanting either John Danks or Hector Noesi? No, not just yet for a couple of reasons, the first being Rodon's cumulative workload for the season.

Over the last three years with North Carolina State and the Sox' minor-league system combined, Rodon has averaged about 123 innings per year, never throwing more than 132 (in 2013). As this major-league season rolls on, I think the Sox know they wouldn't be able to get more than about 160 innings out of him.

For reference, in his first full year as a starter, David Price threw 128 innings, after pitching 109 in 2008 in the Tampa Bay Rays' minors, and 133 innings for Vanderbilt the year before. Stephen Strasburg worked 159 innings in his first full year, and the Washington Nationals still shut him down before the postseason.

Rodon could reach the 160-innings threshold if he began starting games regularly around the third week of May, but I think the Sox are trying to balance getting as many starts out of him as possible with keeping him from wearing down late in the year.

Meanwhile, I'd expect Danks and Noesi to be given a bit more time. And for those who have asked, I honestly don't think Danks' contract would prevent the team from adjusting the roster.

• After the brawl with Kansas City, will that bring the Sox closer together and provide a spark?

I think stuff like this is always said in hindsight. Like when you can, months after the fact, point to a specific instance in a great season and say, "right there is the moment they took off," whether it be a walk-off win or something of that nature.

But for something like this, I don't think it means much, if anything. I talked with Micah Johnson on the show Saturday and he said that the fight wasn't a very big deal to the players and that everyone already knew that they all "had each other's backs."

If the Sox are going to put it all together anytime soon, it won't be because they emptied the dugout to fight the Royals. It'll be because the hitters collectively refine their plate approach, the starting rotation solidifies behind the Big Three at the top, and they tighten up the defense.

• Chris Rongey is the host of the White Sox pregame and postgame shows on WSCR 670-AM The Score. Follow him on Twitter@ChrisRongey and at chrisrongey.com.