The White Sox are hoping Bruce Rondon’s first mistake upon arriving at Guaranteed Rate Field will be his last now that he’s a member of the South Side bullpen.
You see, Rondon, a former Detroit Tiger, started his White Sox tenure by heading into the wrong clubhouse. It’s hard to blame him, really, considering he’s only ever pitched here as a visitor. But he got a quick correction from former teammate Miguel Cabrera, who called him crazy and asked what the heck he was doing with the team from the Motor City.
“I never had in mind I would have to pitch against them,” Rondon said after arriving in the correct clubhouse Sunday morning. “This morning, wrongly I went to their clubhouse. I saw Miguel, everybody. He said, ‘Hey loco, what are you doing here?’”
Rondon was brought up from Triple-A Charlotte ahead of Sunday’s game to fill the spot in the bullpen vacated when Juan Minaya got sent down after walking four straight hitters in Saturday’s White Sox loss.
Rondon pitched in 123 big league games with the Tigers from 2013 to 2017 and at one point was considered a promising future closer given his big arm. He’s got seven career saves, but he likely won’t be asked to pick up any more for the White Sox, who just need scoreless innings from a relief corps that has a 7.71 ERA through seven games, tied for the highest in the majors.
This is one of the many veteran sign-and-flip hopefuls Rick Hahn’s front office added over the winter and started the season pitching in Charlotte. Xavier Cedeno, Jeanmar Gomez and Robbie Ross Jr. are all with the Knights. Whether any or multiple of those guys turn big league chances into a potential midseason trade for the rebuilding White Sox remains to be seen, but it’s a good opportunity for those guys to work with Don Cooper and potentially rediscover some old magic.
“We saw it, after he was able to get there with us, obviously a power arm,” manager Rick Renteria said. “The outings he did have with us were very efficient, got through them very quickly. Did throw one inning in Charlotte without any incident, did a nice job. He’s been in the big leagues in the past. I think that the hope is that we can harness that power, have him command the strike zone more consistently and maybe we get something that’s long lasting and effective.
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“We’re very flexible with everything we’ve been doing. But to go and say to you that he’s got a chance to win a back-end position, that’s not something that I have on my mind. I want to get him working with us as White Sox, get him used to what we’re about, and then allow his skill set to present what he’s capable of doing. We’ll use him accordingly.”
Rondon allowed just one run in 5.1 innings during Cactus League play, impressive considering the late start he got after visa issues kept him from arriving at camp with the rest of the team. He also dealt with lower-back issues during the spring.
“I felt very good during spring training,” Rondon said. “I got good results and even though I arrived to camp late because of the troubles with the visa, I was always in contact with them and I was working in Venezuela with the program Coop and the coaches gave me. They knew what I was doing in Venezuela, and when they saw me in spring training, they were happy with the way I was doing my job and throwing the ball.
“These first days in the minors was a continuation of that work. I think right now I feel good. I was able to execute all my plan during spring training and I feel really good.
“I think this is the right spot for me, and I’m very thankful for the White Sox for this opportunity. They are going to give me the chance to show what I’m able to do.”