GLENDALE, Ariz. _ As the most tenured pitcher of the White Sox rotation, Carlos Rodon has been around long enough to remember what it was like to enter a season with big expectations.
Rodon was a highly touted rookie on the 2015 Sox team that included starters Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Jeff Samardzija The left-hander lived up to the hype with a 9-6 record and 3.75 ERA in 26 games.
Arm injuries have prevented Rodon from fulfilling that promise, and five years later he enters 2020 as a question mark while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
"It sucks," Rodon, 27, said Wednesday as Sox camp officially began at Camelback Ranch. "This is season six with the White Sox, and this will be the third opening day I've missed.
"It gets frustrating, especially when we've put together a team as good as this is... on paper, of course. I'll be cheering them from here watching on TV, waiting to show up."
When he'll be able to show up, and where he'll fit in, are questions no one can answer yet.
The Sox couldn't count on Rodon making more than a half-season of starts this year and added veterans Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez to a rotation that already included Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease and Reynaldo Lopez. Michael Kopech, who missed all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery, also is on tap to re-enter the rotation, either at the end of camp or in April or May, depending on his arm strength.
The good news is the Sox potentially could have seven viable starters for five spots if they're in contention in the second half.
Of course that's a big "if," especially with Lopez's struggles, Kopech's and Cease's inexperience and Rodon's injury history.
Rodon underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery at the end of the 2017 season and missed the first two months of '18. Last year he was ready at the outset of the season and posted a 2.89 ERA over his first five starts, looking like the pitcher everyone expected.
But he broke down in his next two starts and was forced to undergo reconstructive elbow surgery on May 15, ending his season after only seven starts.
Averaging only 13 starts in each of the last three seasons, Rodon's durability issues will force the Sox to be extra cautious this time out. He spent much of the offseason at the Pro X Athlete training facility in Indianapolis and said he's thrown three bullpen sessions this month in Glendale, using only his fastball and being limited to 15-20 pitches.
Rodon won't pitch in any Cactus League games this spring and is unlikely to return before the second half.
"Honestly, I don't even know a timeline," he said. "I'm just going about it the way they want me to, doing it every day. I'm hitting every day's marks, so I can't say I'm going slower. I don't really know what the pace is."
Either way, Rodon won't have to face the pressure of carrying the load now that Keuchel and Giolito are at the top of the rotation. He can make sure he's completely healthy before returning this summer as a No. 3 or 4 starter instead of the designated ace.
"Which is nice," he said. "We've got great arms here. We've got guys that can eat innings. There's no rush, right? I've been hurt enough where I just want to come back and stay healthy instead of coming back and getting hurt again. It's a viscous cycle."
The waiting game has been difficult for both Rodon and Kopech, two competitors with strong arms and outgoing personalities. When Kopech came up to the Sox in August 2018, the team was on its way to losing 100 games.
Now they're hoping to become integral parts of a contending team in the American League Central.
"It's a different team," Kopech said. "We'd be silly to say that it's not. I'm really looking forward to just being a part of it, if nothing else."
Barring a change in philosophy, the Sox won't be going to a six-man rotation any time soon. That means Cease will have to build off his strong finish in '19 and Lopez will have to rebound from his season-long struggles. Either one could be replaced in the rotation as the Sox can no longer afford to place development over winning.
Lopez insisted he doesn't have to battle to keep his spot.
"I'm going to keep doing my job and keep doing my best," Lopez said through a team interpreter. "There isn't anything to fight for. When you're in this level, everyone knows you can't be comfortable because there's a lot of people behind you that want the spot. That's my mindset."
The Sox already know what Rodon can do when he's healthy. He was the No. 3 pick 2014 with the world in the palm of his hands. Now he has to prove himself all over again.
"I think I just need to show that I'm durable," he said. "What I'm hoping is that the elbow (issue) was the root of all evil. Just show up and be the guy I know I can be, and the guy they know I can be, and become durable.
"Availability and durability, those are pretty big things."
Rodon becomes a free agent after 2021, so he won't have many more opportunities to show he's the same pitcher who could dominate in '15 and '16. More important, he said, is having a chance to be part of a contender. Like everyone else on the South Side, he's grown accustomed to waiting.
"I'd like to be on a team that wins," he said. "I'm kind of invested in that now. I'm like a Sox fan now _ I'm invested."
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