GLENDALE, Ariz. — As left-hander Carlos Rodon was getting ready to throw off a mound for the third time this spring, White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper couldn’t have been more encouraged about the progress he has seen as he comes back from arthroscopic shoulder surgery last September.
Rodon, who is not expected to be with the team till June at the earliest, looks as good just throwing a baseball as he has in two years, Cooper said. He threw 25 pitches — fastballs and changeups.
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“I knew he wasn’t going to be ready to leave [with the team out of spring training], but I didn’t expect him to look as good as he does,” Cooper told the Sun-Times on Thursday. “It’s very, very promising, very encouraging. And it makes you want to think, hmm, maybe we could make this quicker.”
As in, perhaps the Sox should speed up Rodon’s program for a swifter return. But in a rebuilding year, they will be cautious with the No. 3 overall pick from the 2014 draft who could have been their opening-day starter if healthy.
“But that would be a foolish way to do it,” Cooper said. “He’s going good now. He’ll be ready when he’s ready in the big leagues with us; I just can’t give you the day.
“Things have to continue the way they are, but right now he couldn’t be in a better spot, the way he’s looked from Day 1 till today.”
Here’s Rodon after throwing off a mound Thursday:
“Everything is how I’m feeling after every mound session, and right now it feels great,” Rodon said.
Cooper said a month ago that Rodon looked better just playing catch.
“It’s the looseness of it,” Cooper said. “It looked great from the beginning. His long toss looks great. His flat ground looks great. His sideline the other day looked great.”
Cooper spoke before Rodon’s session. He relayed to manager Rick Renteria that the session went well.
“I didn’t see him throw, but Coop said he threw very well, about 25 pitches,” Renteria said. “He said he looks good. He’s on track for down the road.”
Rodon’s program has been broken down into two-week segments.
“We kind of have it planned out pretty good,” Rodon said. “Just keep chugging along. I’m not going to tell you what I’m doing because I’m not allowed to. But I wouldn’t want to tell [media], no offense to you guys. We’ll see where it goes.”
