Their rotation continues to be plagued by attrition, with the latest trouble being left-hander Carlos Rodon's early exit with left shoulder soreness in a win against the Brewers on Monday evening. Rodon went just two innings before leaving and is set to be further evaluated Tuesday. After throwing 93-94 miles per hour to the first few batters, Rodon's velocity dropped to 85-86 miles per hour throughout the second inning.
"He was kind of fidgeting quite a bit," manager Rick Renteria said. "When he went back out, his velocities were down a bit. Well maybe not a bit but enough. When he came in, he said he was feeling something in his neck and the ball wasn't coming out just right. Which is what we saw."
Rodon is the latest among a handful of White Sox pitchers to suffer an injury. Right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, who opened the season as the team's No. 3 starter, remains on the injured list with a forearm strain. Right-hander Jimmy Lambert was recently transferred to the 45-day injured list, essentially eliminating him from being a factor in the truncated 60-game season. Lambert was working in a relief role for the White Sox but had been a starter throughout his rise through the minor leagues.
Those injuries came after White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech opted out of playing the 2020 season amid the pandemic.
On Monday, the White Sox signed 36-year-old left-hander Clayton Richard to a minor league deal and sent him to their alternate camp in Schaumburg to work. He had a 5.96 ERA in 10 starts for the Blue Jays in 2019.
If Rodon is out for an extended period, left-hander Ross Detwiler, right-hander Dane Dunning and Richard will be considered to fill his spot. Detwiler has been a savior for the White Sox in the early going with his excellent work, throwing 8 1/3 scoreless innings in five appearances. His work in relief of Rodon on Monday was part of the reason the White Sox had the chance to rally and beat the Brewers, 6-4.
Dunning is coming back from Tommy John surgery that he had in March 2019. He could be a solid option to fill a rotation spot if he gets stretched out to a starter's workload. Dunning his a variety of quality pitches and sits at 93-94 miles per hour consistently.
"I would say you never take anything off of the table," Renteria said of a possible rotation fill-in for Rodon. "It's a unique time right now, and everyone's trying to get through this thing. I will not limit nor do I think the organization will limit what we can or cannot do. We've got to be flexible. It's just the moment we are in."