NEW YORK — The White Sox continue to resist the instinct to rush Carlos Rodon's unpredictable rehab.
White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Tuesday afternoon that Rodon — who went 9-10 with a 4.04 ERA last season — has made more progress from soreness in his left bicep, but not enough to throw off the mound. Until Rodon reaches that point, the White Sox can't predict with certainty when he could make a rehab start or when he might return to the major leagues. As trying as it may to be, the White Sox don't want to take any chances with the health of their talented young pitcher.
"We want to make sure he's pain free before you take any additional steps," Hahn said. "The progress is there. When you start in on these things, you can't really predict how long it's going to be until a guy feels normal. But he does feel better as this unfolds and continues to progress.
"We are responding to symptoms and how he feels and the key is he feels good and he's making progress."
Rodon is now 22 days into his throwing program. About a week in, the hope was that Rodon would continue to make enough progress to where he was throwing off the mound sometime last week. But for now Rodon continues to play catch in extended spring training at the team's facility in Glendale, Ariz.
Rodon's soreness began late last month four days after he made his first Cactus League start. Initially he felt good enough to ask if he the club would consider moving up his first regular season start. Then the soreness hit and Rodon underwent a physical examination, had an MRI taken and received a second opinion.
Each test determined that Rodon has no structural damage, which Hahn identified as the key for not being overly concerned.
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"As I've said from the start, we are going to take as much time as this needs to do it the right way," Hahn said. "There's no urgency to rush him back or force the issue at all. Obviously you would prefer things to move along as quickly as possible, but we are going to resist any instinct to be impatient and respond to how he's doing each step of the way."
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Also on the injury front:
— Catcher Geovany Soto (sore elbow) threw on Monday and was "asymptomatic," according to Hahn.
— Center fielder Charlie Tilson is out of his walking boot and will see an increase in "load-bearing activities." Hahn said there's no timeframe as Tilson continues to rehab his right foot and his left hamstring.
— Pitcher Juan Minaya (abdominal tear) is throwing off a mound and has faced hitters in live batting practice. He could begin a rehab assignment soon.
— Pitcher Jake Petricka (lat strain) has made progress in his exercises but has yet to throw — "could still be a while," Hahn said.