The Chicago White Sox placed starting pitcher Carlos Rodon on the 15-day disabled list Saturday morning because of a wrist injury.
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Rodon Expecting to Make Quick Recovery
Saturday, July 9
The team officially announced the roster move on Twitter and noted fellow pitcher Tommy Kahnle will fill the void on the 25-man roster. The Associated Press (via USA Today) reported Rodon was diagnosed with a sprained left wrist.
Jeff Arnold of the Chicago Sun-Times passed along further information about the ailment from Rodon. He stated the injury occurred Friday when he braced himself after he slipped on the dugout steps.
JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago reported the starter only expects to miss one turn in the rotation thanks to the timing of next week’s All-Star break. He initially didn’t think anything of the injury until returning to the clubhouse after the fall.
“I came back in and sat down and I was like, ‘uhh, all right, this kind of hurts a little bit,'” Rodon said.
The accident brings an end to a mostly disappointing first half for the 23-year-old lefty. He went 2-7 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.53 WHIP across 16 starts. He told Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago on Thursday he was hoping to turn things around after the break, but that goal will now be briefly delayed:
It hasn’t been what I wanted, that’s for sure. Frustrating, especially when you have a good team like this. You want to be able to win for them. You want to be a part of their winning. You got guys like (Chris) Sale and (Jose) Quintana shoving it … and pitching well. It’s tough to sit there and watch your start when you’re not doing what you’re doing.
His peripheral numbers suggest there’s reason for optimism once he gets healthy. The .349 batting average on balls in play points toward some bad luck, a thought backed up by his 4.12 xFIP and 4.11 SIERA, per FanGraphs.
Rodon has also struck out 91 batters in 92 innings, the type of rate a team likes to see from a pitcher who should eventually become a key cog in the rotation. The biggest factor in reaching that status is improving his command to cut down on his walk total.
The fact that he’s hoping to miss just a single start is good news for a White Sox club that’s looking to contend for a playoff berth. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the team ends up giving him a little extra time to fully recover, though, since it’s an injury to his pitching wrist.
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