When Carlos Rodón walked off the mound following his disastrous, game-altering appearance in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, I'd assumed he'd thrown his final pitch for the White Sox.
Of course, I also assumed that Rick Renteria would still be the manager.
Instead, Renteria's out, and now it'll be up to Tony La Russa to figure out how to effectively deploy Rodón, who is back with the White Sox one a one-year, $3 million contract. Jon Heyman broke the story, and Bob Nightengale delivered the news with his favorite adjective.
I'd call Rodón "pitching depth" more than "bullpen depth," because he's been far from fabulous in his handful of relief attempts, with his final appearance of 2020 in Oakland preceded by a bad call and worse results in Cleveland. But Rodón also hadn't proven useful as a starter, so Renteria's management of him looked a lot like a manifestation of his exasperation.
Rodón's ERA has risen every year on the White Sox and he hasn't been healthy, so I was content to see both sides move on when the White Sox non-tendered him. He's coming back at a $1.5 million pay cut, so the Sox correctly identified his market value. It's more that his return feels a little too much like "Gordon Beckham, but in a bench role this time" for my excitement. Fortunately, even if Rodón remains a constant, the combination of a new manager in La Russa and a new pitching coach in Ethan Katz keep it from being the definition of insanity.
(Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire)
