White Sox announce one-year deal with left-hander Carlos Rodon

The White Sox announced their one-year, $3 million deal with left-hander Carlos Rodon Monday and designated right-hander Emilio Vargas for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

The deal for Rodon, who has pitched his entire career with the Sox, was first reported Saturday.

Rodon, who will be given an opportunity to win a spot in the starting rotation, has been limited to 11 appearances the last two seasons because of elbow and shoulder injuries that required surgeries, including Tommy John in 2019. The former No. 3 overall draft pick owns a career 29-33 record with a 4.14 ERA.

Shoulder soreness limited Rodon to four games and two starts in 2020, and he allowed seven earned runs over 7 ²⁄₃ innings. Rodon faced three batters in Game 3 of the Wild Card playoff series against the Athletics without retiring a batter. The Sox did not tender a contract to Rodon after the season but stayed in contact with him this offseason and, confident that his arm is healthy again, are hoping a fresh start under new pitching coach Ethan Katz and a new manager in Tony La Russa will be beneficial.

Rodon’s best season was his second, in 2016 when he posted a 4.04 ERA in 165 innings covering 28 starts.

Vargas, 24, was claimed by the Sox off waivers from the Diamonbacks in November. He went 5-5 with a 3.84 ERA over 20 starts between Class AA Jackson and the Arizona Rookie League Diamondbacks in 2019.