White Sox Carlos Rodon Underwent Shoulder Surgery

White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon underwent surgery on Wednesday. He could be back in time for Spring Training or miss a part of the 2018 season.

While the 2017 season is just days away from being over, the injuries never stop. The most recent injured pitcher is Chicago White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon. The 24-year-old pitcher underwent arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday. The recovery time is significant and could affect his status for 2018.

Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweeted the estimated time for recovery is between six and eight months. If it’s the former, that’ll put Rodon back at the end of Spring Training. If he’ll need eight months to be back to 100 percent, he won’t be back on the mound until July.

Rodon made only 12 starts as he missed the first two months with bursitis in his left biceps and he was shut down in the beginning of September. In those starts, he posted a 4.15 ERA, 1.370 WHIP and 2-5 record.

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He did improve his strikeout rate from 2016, 9.2 to 9.9, but he gave up a lot of walks too. Rodon had a 2.9 BB/9 last season, not great but manageable. However, he posted a 4.0 BB/9 in 69.1 innings this year.

As a 22nd-round pick, fantasy owners were hoping for Rodon to be a breakout player. There was little risk to drafting him. I selected him in the 22nd round but quickly dropped him when news broke that he would be missing the first two months.

There is promise in Rodon. He posted career highs in a lot of pitching categories. While the sample size isn’t that big, he showed us what he can do if he’s healthy for a full season. Rodon had a 25.6 strikeout rate, 10.3 swinging strike rate and 56.2 first pitch strike rate.

There were some negatives like his fly ball, hard hit and HR/FB rates. Then again, power is up all across the league so every pitcher is prone to increases in those stats.

Rodon is all but guaranteed a spot in the White Sox rotation next season as they continue to rebuild. The team is looking to add to the struggling James Shields and recently added Lucas Giolito. Michael Kopech is carving out a role for himself too.

Rodon has had some bad luck this season. He looked good in his first two seasons with 51 combined starts but hasn’t lived up to expectations. This recent injury hinders his outlook for 2018. I wouldn’t invest anything higher than a 20th-round pick next year. That could drop if he’s expected to miss the first couple of months.