Sox non-tender oft-injured first-round pick Carlos Rodón

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Carlos Rodón is no longer part of the White Sox pitching plan, bringing an end to the attempt to turn the 2014 first-round pick into the ace of the South Side staff.

The team non-tendered the oft-injured left-hander Wednesday, writing him out of the list of pitching possibilities ahead of a 2021 season with championship expectations.

In short, Rodón never lived up to the expectations that came along with his selection as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft. But the story is more complicated than that, as he was routinely sidelined with significant arm injuries that wiped out a significant chunk of his last four seasons.

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Rodón reached the big leagues rapidly, pitching there not a full year after being drafted. He showed flashes of brilliance in 2015 and 2016. But the injuries started piling up from there. A springtime injury sidelined him until the end of June in 2017, and by September he was again on the shelf with shoulder surgery that knocked him out until the following summer. He made 20 starts in 2018, but hopes for a full, healthy season in 2019 were dashed after seven outings, after which he required Tommy John surgery.

The delayed start to the shortened 2020 campaign allowed Rodón to be a full-season addition for the White Sox rather than a midseason add upon his recovery from Tommy John. But he made an early exit from his second start of the campaign with a back injury and didn’t return until the very end of the regular season. In the end, his 2020 was defined by a pair of woeful relief appearances, inserted with the bases loaded in a late-September loss in Cleveland and giving up two runs against just three batters in Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series in Oakland.

Between an inability to stay healthy, inconsistent performance, an economic landscape that could see teams trying to save anywhere they can and a crowded White Sox rotation, Rodón didn’t seem to fit in the team’s plans for 2021 as it moves into win-now mode.

Of course, the White Sox won't completely close the book on the possibility of Rodón pitching for them in 2021, with general manager Rick Hahn saying Wednesday: "We plan to stay in contact with both Nomar (Mazara) and Carlos and evaluate their possible fit with our club as we move forward through the offseason."

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