March 30--GLENDALE, Ariz. -- One by one, White Sox players on the fringe of roster conversations were called out of the Camelback Ranch clubhouse Monday morning into meetings to discuss their futures with the Sox bosses.
Left-hander Carlos Rodon, the Sox's top-ranked prospect and No. 3 overall draft pick over the summer, was among those to take a meeting to discuss what he needs to work on to prepare for his major-league debut. While the Sox haven't made it official, it seems likely that work will be happening in Triple-A Charlotte to start the season.
Rodon, who is scheduled to pitch in a Cactus League game against the Dodgers on Tuesday, said afterward he appreciated having such a conversation before any moves were made.
"Like I told them, (being in spring training) was something I needed just to get comfortable," Rodon said. "I'm going to be up there eventually and just being comfortable with the opponents and my teammates here (helps). It was just an overall fun experience."
The Sox have been considering whether Rodon could start the season in the big-league rotation or bullpen with under 25 innings of professional experience to his name. They certainly have been impressed this spring as Rodon posted a 3.65 ERA with three walks and 19 strikeouts over 12 1/3 innings.
But they also believe that Rodon needs to continue to work on his fastball command and his changeup to go with his well established slider. For now, they believe he will be best served doing that as a starter, and with Chris Sale on track to make his return from injury by the first weekend of the season, they have five starters who can hold down the rotation until Rodon is better prepared.
Sox general manager Rick Hahn said depending on team circumstances or his developmental needs, Rodon could still be used out of the bullpen this year, as Sale did early in his career. But the Sox aren't ready to change course from using him as a starter yet.
"We've talked about for a long time that he's going to be in our opinion a mainstay toward the front end of our rotation for a long time," Hahn said. "I think everyone has now seen on a national level thanks to the broadcast last week (against the Royals) how devastating his slider can be. ... Now it's a matter of getting that changeup up to where it needs to be and continuing with fastball command and getting the right pitch mix.
"He's a special talent and I expect he will help us one way or another in Chicago in the not-too-distant future."
Rodon said he understands what the Sox want from him and that he will be better served if he doesn't always rely on his slider.
"It gets me out of jams, but I'd love to rely on that changeup to get me out it as well," Rodon said. "It's hard. The fastball-slider is so good that it's hard to stray away from that, but in the long run the changeup is going to make me even better."
Rodon said he won't focus on how quickly he can make it to Chicago.
"Whatever happens, I'm going to take it for what it is and I'm going to get my work in," Rodon said. "If it's in Chicago I'm going to win for them, and if it's in Charlotte I'm going to win for them too."
After all of the conversations, the only roster moves the Sox actually made were to reassign right-handed prospect Chris Beck to minor-league camp and to release minor-league pitchers J.D. Martin and Joe Savery. Hahn also announced that reliever Jake Petricka, who is battling forearm/elbow soreness, will start the season on the disabled list.
