May 13--MILWAUKEE -- The White Sox officially named rookie left-hander Carlos Rodon a member of the starting rotation Tuesday before their game against the Brewers at Miller Park.
Rodon will make his second major-league start Friday in Oakland after earning the victory in his first career start Saturday against the Reds.
The Sox initially used Rodon out of the bullpen in an effort to maximize his innings in his first full season out of college. Sox general manager Rick Hahn said they roughly mapped out Rodon's schedule through the All-Star break to continue to try to manage his workload.
Rodon will have scheduled breaks along the way, such as being skipped in the rotation or receiving more than four days' rest. Sox right-hander Hector Noesi, whom Rodon displaces in the rotation, will be available out of the bullpen but will make spot starts as well to help fill the gaps during Rodon's breaks.
"(Rodon) knows that he will play an active role in communication to us what he is feeling and give us feedback based on what we are seeing from his outings," Hahn said. "This is going to be a process. We are going to be open-minded and flexible. ... That (schedule) could always change based on weather, effectiveness and any number of factors."
The Sox made the move at a time when their starting pitchers have compiled a 5.16 ERA, entering Tuesday. The Sox hope Rodon can help improve that. He gave up two earned runs on four hits with four walks and eight strikeouts over six innings in his victory over the Reds. He has a 2.92 ERA over 12 1/3 innings with the Sox this season.
"The best part of it is he gets to use everything (in his repertoire)," Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "When he goes in there as a reliever, he's just trying to get in and out as fast as he can. Now with that start that he had, you're able to use maybe his changeup a little more and have a little more variety than just fastball-slider. And I think command-wise he's going to be better with that."
Hahn hasn't committed to a number of innings for Rodon and said it will be determined by how he looks and feels. Rodon said he understands the Sox's desire to limit his workload and is fine with how they go about doing that.
"First full season in pro ball, you have to manage innings," Rodon said. "I'm kind of not used to that kind of workload. The most I've thrown is 130 or 150 innings. It gets up to 190 or 200 pretty easily. ... I've got no number. I'm just here to win, and win every game I start."
