MILWAUKEE — The White Sox officially added Carlos Rodon to the starting rotation Tuesday, naming the rookie left-hander as their starter for Friday’s game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland.
Rodon, who pitched six strong innings in his first start Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds, has a tentative schedule mapped out until the All-Star break, general manager Rick Hahn said. The schedule includes off days and breaks.
“This is going to be a process, though,” Hahn said. “This isn’t something that he’s going to start taking the ball every fifth day. He will start Friday in Oakland and then, although we’ve mapped out through the All-Star break, tentatively what the plan will be, we are going to remain flexible and may have to make some alterations. There will be periods and breaks in this process.”
The intent is for Rodon to finish the season strong and on the active roster, Hahn said. The Sox also want to “maximize his effectiveness by having him on a semi-regular schedule” and “preserving his long-term health by keeping his workload manageable through the season.”
There will be scheduled periods of breaks, skipped starts and days off as the Sox keep Rodon comfortably under 200 innings in his first major league season. The 150 innings number “simply is not true. There is no magic number,” Hahn said.
“At the end of the season he may well be at 150. He may be lower than that, depending on how he feels and how he’s responding to a professional workload. And Carlos understands that.”
Rodon is 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA, 12 strikeouts and eight walks over 12 1/3 innings. He began the season at AAA Charlotte. Last June, the Sox selected him with the third overall pick in the draft.