White Sox's Rodon still sore, but scheduled to start next week

A day after saying "I don't see how" injury-prone Carlos Rodon will be able to make his final start of the regular season next week, White Sox manager Tony La Russa upgraded his outlook a bit on Tuesday.

Rodon has been dealing with shoulder soreness throughout the second half and the all-star lefty lasted only 3 innings in Monday night's 4-3 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park.

Instead of being shut down for the season and possibly playoffs, Rodon is scheduled to start against the Reds next Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

"We had a long conversation and I think we're going to do some stuff with the idea of getting him ready for the game against Cincinnati," La Russa said. "Yesterday was not a good day, so he's got another shot and we'll see if there's a better result so we can be more optimistic."

After throwing 69 pitches and allowing 2 earned runs on 2 hits and 2 walks against Detroit, Rodon complained of soreness to La Russa and was removed.

When the game ended, Rodon told the media: "It's just normal soreness, nothing crazy."

Time will tell if Rodon (12-5, 2.47 ERA) can get healthy and help the Sox in the playoffs.

"He was sore this morning," La Russa said. "Hopefully, it's normal soreness. We'll do a bunch of stuff to get him ready and keep our fingers crossed that (Wednesday) he's good to go. We're not assuming anything. Just try to do as much as you can and be optimistic it will work out. If not, we'll make an adjustment."