White Sox decline contract offers on Mazara, Rodon
Nomar Mazara was a major disappointment in his first season with the White Sox.
Carlos Rodon battled injuries for a fourth straight year.
Not surprisingly, neither player was tendered a contract before Wednesday night's deadline. Mazara and Rodon are free agents.
The Sox did agree to terms on a one-year, $862,500 contract with left-handed relief pitcher Jace Fry, avoiding salary arbitration.
The odds of Mazara or Rodon rejoining the White Sox are razor slim, but the return door is cracked.
"A great deal of consideration and analysis goes into our decisions to forgo the arbitration process and instead engage with players and their representatives as free agents," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said in a statement. "We plan to stay in contact with both Nomar and Carlos and evaluate their possible fit with our club as we move forward through the off-season."
Mazara was acquired in a trade from the Rangers last off-season for minor-league outfielder Steele Walker.
Expected to hit for power, the 25-year-old right fielder was held to 1 home run over 42 games while hitting .228/.295/.294 with 15 RBI and 44 strikeouts in 149 plate appearances.
Mazara, who averaged 20 homers in his first four years with Texas, missed the end of summer training camp and the first 10 games of the season with strep throat and never got into a groove.
"It's been a little frustrating because it's a short season," Mazara said before the White Sox headed into the playoffs. "We don't have the time that we usually have to say, 'OK, I'm going to get it, we have 500 more at-bats.' This year, that's not the case. I know I've been working like crazy, just going out there and nothing's working."
Rodon was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft, and the left-hander looked like a keeper in his first two seasons, going 18-16 with a 3.90 ERA and 307 strikeouts over 304⅓ innings.
He had shoulder surgery in 2017 and Tommy John surgery in '19.
Last season, he had shoulder soreness early and was ineffective after returning just before the playoffs. In four games (2 starts), Rodon was 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA.
Before the short season started, the 27-year-old Rodon didn't hold back when asked about his stretch of tough health.
"I think about this every day," he said. "I've gone through a few things, granted it's in the sports world. People have gone through a lot more in the real world. Getting hurt is not a thing that anyone wants to do, any athlete. That's not our goal.
"That's the last thing you think about when you get drafted or you become a professional athlete. But sometimes it doesn't quite go your way."
Fry was 0-1 with a 3.66 ERA in 18 relief appearances last season.