CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- Injuries have once again have taken their toll on the White Sox.
General manager Rick Hahn revealed Monday that left-hander Carlos Rodon is headed for Tommy John surgery and that reliever Nate Jones is done for the season after having forearm surgery. Rodon, of course, is the high-profile concern amid that news, as the long-held hope has been for him to transform into a top-of-the-rotation starter. The White Sox's hope is that the 26-year-old Rodon can return for the second half of the 2020 season.
Rodon is the latest in a string of pitchers in the White Sox organization to suffer serious injury, as Michael Kopech and Dane Dunning each are rehabbing from Tommy John surgery now as well. Those injury setbacks further cloud the organization's rebuild that's in its third season. Amid the latest gut punch, Hahn tried to keep perspective the best he could.
"We have tried to keep our focus the last three years now on the long-term future," Hahn said. "When you look at a loss of Rodon, it is how does impact us in the long term? Not just the wins and losses. We want to see the same focus on the big picture. We look at the breadth and depth of pitching, the arms we still have and how they are progressing. We want to see all of that before we get frustrated with one individual loss."
Rodon's serious injury overshadowed Monday what has been solid play from the young White Sox lately. They're 15-13 since a 3-8 start, and shortstop Tim Anderson, third baseman Yoan Moncada and right-hander Lucas Giolito have all showcased quality progress this season.
"From a wins-and-loss standpoint, we are somewhat pleased with how things are going," Hahn said with some hesitation Monday. "Internally, we looked at this stretch of games as an extremely difficult one. We have 37 games in 38 days. (That's) what we are in the midst of. We had to put three pitchers on the IL at the beginning of that stretch."
"Ultimately at the end of the year, the wins and losses are going to line up the way they line up. We want to win as many games as we can. We enjoy these games far better than the ones in which we were taking out lumps and suffering growing pains, even though we know it's in the greater long-term good of the organization."
Hahn isn't focused on the White Sox's record at season's end but rather the development of the youngsters.
"It will be how we got there," Hahn said. "It will be about how we got to that win total. Will it be about how the Moncadas, Lopezes and Giolitos progress and are potentially key pieces of championship clubs or was it because some veteran guys we picked up along the way had solid seasons and helped us sustain a certain level of performance against a league that may be down a little bit?"
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
