With J.A. Happ and Cole Hamels headed to new homes, the question has turned to who is the best pitcher available as the MLB trade deadline approaches.
According to Peter Gammons, the White Sox have been getting calls on Carlos Rodon.
Knowing White Sox are willing to talk on anyone, scouta seeing Carlos Rodon hitting 98 has led to a lot of inquiries
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) July 27, 2018
While it is unclear if the White Sox would trade Rodon, who is under team control though 2021, the interest is understandable.
Rodon has allowed four earned runs over his last three starts totaling 21 innings. While he did walk six three starts ago against the Astros, Rodon lowered it to just five walks over his next two outings and for better or worse that part of his game has not shown any signs of changing.
The White Sox have not been shy about making trades in recent years and with some of their top prospects on the way from the minors the question now turns to whether or not Rodon fits into the organization’s plan going forward.
Rodon, much like Jose Abreu, is a holdover from when the team last held aspirations of contending in the AL Central back before trades saw Chris Sale, Carlos Quintana, Adam Eaton and anyone with a pulse in the bullpen leave the team.
The question about Rodon has always been his health. His career high for innings is just 165 and the aforementioned walks have also been a concern.
Still as evident from his last few starts Rodon offers tremendous upside. Despite all the lost seasons, Rodon is just 25 and remains under team control for another three years. That information has not been lost by anyone around baseball.
Now the question remains. Do the White Sox see Rodon as part of their future?