Carlos Rodon missed nearly four months of this White Sox season with injuries, and his start to the 2018 season is in question after the pitcher underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder Wednesday.
Sox general manager Rick Hahn announced the latest development in Rodon's rough year at his end-of-the-season news conference Thursday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The surgery, performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, revealed "significant bursitis," but the positive news was that it found no damage to the labrum or biceps. The shoulder was debrided, the removal of dead, damaged, and Hahn said the Sox expect Rodon to need 6-8 months of recovery. That could put a return somewhere between opening day on March 29 against the Royals in Kansas City and the beginning of June.
Hahn said the Sox won't be able to set a more specific timetable until Rodon begins throwing again.
"Prognosis is for a full and complete recovery and return back to the pitcher he was," Hahn said. "Any time you go into someone's shoulder, you do so with the utmost caution, and we don't try to prognosticate too much on what's going to wind up happening. But in terms of what was medically performed and what they saw inside the shoulder, it was as good as we could hope and he is projected to make a full recovery."
Rodon, 24, missed nearly three months at the start of the season as he tried to recover from bursitis. He returned June 28 to make 12 starts, compiling a 4.15 ERA with 31 walks, 76 strikeouts and a 1.37 WHIP over 691/3 innings. He seemed to have found a groove with a 3.41 ERA in August.
But Hahn pointed to Rodon needing a few innings to get loose in games as an indicator of an issue, and the Sox shut him down early after he complained of discomfort while warming up for a Sept. 7 start.
Hahn said the bursitis isn't specifically related to usage or mechanics, and he should be able to move past the issue once he is beyond rehab.
"It's something that happens from time to time, and unfortunately it happened to Carlos," he said. "My understanding is that once he's on the other side of this and fully returned to pitching, he is not at any heightened risk of recurrence from suffering from bursitis. It should be behind him once he's fully healthy."
Rodon last spoke to the media Saturday, when he didn't rule out surgery but said, "I just know that I'll be ready for next season." Sox manager Rick Renteria said he handled the news "OK," considering he didn't need a more serious procedure.
The No. 3 overall draft pick in 2014, Rodon is considered a key piece of the Sox rotation _ if not the team's ace _ moving forward. This was supposed to be a breakout year after he had a 3.75 ERA in 1391/3 innings in 2015 and 4.04 ERA in 165 innings in 2016.
But the Sox were deliberate with his original recovery in the rebuilding season, and they are sure to approach this process the same way. Should he not be ready for the season opener, they'll have to find another starter in a rotation that could include James Shields, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Carson Fulmer. Michael Kopech might be an option, but the Sox likely would prefer to have him start at Triple-A Charlotte.
"We're just going to be very cautious in having him return," Renteria said. "He's got an excellent arm, and he's a kid we obviously see as a piece of the puzzle. When he gets back, he gets back. Hopefully some of the depth we have, some of the guys we have within the system and we'll acquire along the way, will help us get through that point."
