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Breaking: Team With Three Starters Scoffs Away a No-Brainer Fourth

Carlos Rodón does not get a qualifying offer, because who needs that Cy Young-quality arm or comp pick, anyway.

By Brett Ballantini
Division Series “u2013 Astros v White Sox “u2013 Game Four
In what could be considered dereliction of duty, the White Sox opted to slate, uh, Jimmy Lambert (?) for fifth starter by refusing to even bother Carlos Rodón with a qualifying offer.
Ron Vesely/Getty Images

Let’s keep it brief, this doesn’t have to be a long post.

Unless contrary word is coming in VERY late, Carlos Rodón was not extended an $18.4 million qualifying offer by the White Sox for the 2022 season.

Why he wasn’t speaks to some disfunction in the White Sox front office. Let’s review the three basic options out there for the White Sox:

  1. Qualifying offer, Rodón takes it.
  2. Qualifying offer, Rodón refuses it, he signs elsewhere, White Sox get a free draft pick after 2022’s second round.
  3. Watch football on Sunday, weatherproof the windows, demolish a bowl of chips and guacamole, impair your team’s future.

Just like the White Sox seemingly have reasons for bringing back Craig Kimbrel for $16 million despite a poor White Sox tenure in 2021’s second half, Rick Hahn must have a good rationale for not executing moves 1 or 2 above. It seems irresponsible to say the least to ship off arguably your best 2021 starter, hurt or not, with not so much as an edible arrangement to speak of.

In our staff discussion behind the scenes in the wake of this news, there are a few plausible suggestions. One, Rodón is toast, his arm is shot. Doesn’t seem so, based on triple-digits in the ALDS, but, OK? Two, the starter market is saturated, Rodón won’t get $18 million and ... after two years of insults, he comes back to the White Sox?

Let’s not forget, a year ago the White Sox non-tendered Rodón. That move made perfect sense, he’d been hurt, and had ended the season on a terrible note with Ricky Renteria backing over him repeatedly with weird bullpen usage. When his market wasn’t too hot, Rodón decided that with a new pitching coach, a half-price (compared to his likely arb award) salary, and a promise to be in the rotation mix, a return to the White Sox made sense.

In 2021, Rodón did everything — wait, WAY MORE than everything — the White Sox could possibly have asked him to do. And he can’t even get a QO.

This is a stunning move.

So, you think, what if Scott Boras has already told the White Sox he’s sniffing 5/100 out there for Los, or whatever, something too pricey for the South Side payroll? THEN YOU OFFER THE QO and pocket the pick!

It’s worth reviewing, the White Sox have a great rotation at its best but ZERO DEPTH. Jimmy Lambert is literally the No. 6 starter on this club. Unless it’s Reynaldo López. Or Emilio Vargas. Or John Parke.

Even if the White Sox have an elaborate plan for FA signings and trades that will bolster a rotation in serious need of at least back-end backing, it’s just nuts to ship off Rodón, for nothing. The big risk here is what, a half-season of strong starting for $18.4 million?

Feel free to tell me what I’m missing in the comments. I can’t write any more, my head is numbed by the dumbness.

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