NEW YORK — As you may know by now, MLB Opening Day is set for next month, Thursday, April 7th. Fans are delivered with the Boston Red Sox in the Bronx against rival New York Yankees. Washington Nationals led by Juan Soto host the New York Mets, and much more, totaling nine games on the day. Baseball fans are fully back in action.
Spring training has begun, which makes for the time of the year when social media videos of our favorite players strolling into camp go viral instantly. It seems like every night since team owners and the Players Association came to an agreement on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, MLB has had some type of free agency signing or big-time trade.
Today, we will discuss one signing that has gone under the radar. Former Chicago White Sox pitcher, Carlos Rodón agreed with the San Francisco Giants to a two-year deal for a total of $44 million.
Carlos Rodón is a finalist for the 32nd Annual, Latino Sports American League Starting Pitcher Award.
Rodón was one of the most coveted pitchers on the free-agent market this offseason. Several teams in both leagues had an interest in him from the jump. The left-handed gunslinger has the versatility to mix and mesh his pitches to make for odd timing on opponents. Batters consistently become off-balanced while facing Rodón.
The 29-year-old was born in Miami, Florida. He attended high school at Holy Springs in North Carolina. This is where his pitching talent began to get showcased on an elite level. In Rodón’s junior and senior years of high school baseball, he recorded an impressive 21-1 record on the bump. He attended North Carolina State University and pitched in dominant fashion for the Wolfpack.
In 2013, Rodón was selected to play for the USA Baseball National Collegiate team. He was extremely grateful for this opportunity for a bunch of reasons. The games were played in Cuba, which is where Rodóns’ family is originally from. You tend to notice the accent mark above ó in Rodón. His mother was a key contributor to the move. Rodón previously stated: “My mom said, ‘you better put that accent on the back of your name because that’s the proper way to spell it.’ So, I did that for her.”
Rodón was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the first round, the third overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft. Just a year later, on April 21, 2015, he made his professional debut against the Cleveland Indians (now named the Cleveland Guardians). Throughout his seven-year pitching career, Rodón has shown he’s willing to do it all for his team’s overall success. He has appeared out of the bullpen as a reliever on various occasions. However, as it stands today, he is mainly a starting pitcher. Rodón has a career 3.79 earned run average and 11.5 wins above replacement (WAR).
This past season, Rodón was one of the most elite pitchers across the league. As the White Sox won the AL Central division with a 93-69 record, Rodón was a major influence for the Southside’s tremendous year. He was named an All-Star for the first time in his career and finished in 5th place for the American League Cy Young Award.
At Guaranteed Rate Field, Rodón completed a no-hitter against the Cleveland Guardians on April 14, 2021. This marked the 20th no-hitter in White Sox franchise history.
Carlos Rodón 2021 regular season statistics:
13-5 record, 2.37 earned run average, 185 strikeouts, 132.2 innings pitched
📸Image Credit: Major League Baseball
Rodón now enters a new team for the first time in his career. The San Francisco Giants were one of baseball’s most superior teams last season as they won a league-high 107 games. He joins a starting rotation of Logan Webb, Anthony Desclafani, Alex Wood, and Alex Cobb. Giants fans have much to look forward to while the left-handed gunslinger, Rodón pitches in the Bay at Oracle Park.
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