John Danks might begin the season on the disabled list

White Sox left-hander John Danks was limited to just three starts last season due to a shoulder injury which required surgery. While he’s healthy now, he could get a late start on the 2013 season.

Danks has been shaky over his first three Cactus League outings, posting an 11.74 ERA and 4/3 K/BB ratio over 7 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, his velocity is in the high-80s, down a few ticks from his career average. White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper told Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times yesterday that the disabled list is a possibility if it is determined that he needs to build more arm strength.

“John is aware if he’s ready he’s going to be with us,’’ Cooper said Friday. “If he’s not, we’ll give him more time. It’s not something we are going to rush or force feed. We can’t say, ‘Hey, we need you to throw harder.’ We have no control over that. All we have control over is going out there and having our sidelines and going out in the game. Heck, he threw 60 pitches yesterday so that’s a plus in itself. He’s climbing.

The White Sox have every reason to take things slow here. As part of a five-year, $65 million extension signed in December of 2011, Danks will make $14.25 million in each of the next four seasons.