Carlos Rodon is Red Sox CBO Chaim Bloom material
Yes, Carlos Rodon has not panned out as expected during his tenure with Chicago. Year after year the league has been expecting the Rodon breakout season, but now the southpaw is on the cusp of being kicked out of the White Sox rotation. Four straight seasons of daunting injuries have taken the starter out of mainstream discussion and absolutely ruined his trade value.
After that type of introduction you may be wondering why even bother with Rodon then? For starters, he’s cheap. We know Bloom, he’s not going to go for the biggest fish in the pond unless it is served to him on a silver platter. He is a diamond in the ruff general manager, someone who may still see value in Rodon.
Although a high risk option, I would personally say Rodon is still high reward. While healthy, Rodon has shown glimpses of being a good MLB pitcher. His strikeout rates even in injury seasons have been elite, and while healthy he has shown he can go the whole nine innings. Although his ERA has consistently been around 4.00, do not forget that Rodon is on the right side of 30 and has never really had a full healthy season since his debut. His superb spring training definitely helps his case as well.
Finally, look at Chicago’s rotation. They are riding with Giolito, Keuchel, Lynn, Cease, Lopez and the potential introduction of Kopech. That rotation is stacked, especially with Cease primed for a breakout season. It simply does not look like they will have room to fit Rodon, making him all the more available come the deadline. On a cheap, expiring contract, Rodon could fill a pivotal role in Boston’s rotation that could help the team make it further into October than without him.