Carlos Rodon signs two-year deal with San Francisco Giants

Carlos Rodon

Left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon officially parted ways with the White Sox on Friday, agreeing to a two-year, $44 million contract with the San Francisco Giants.

Rodon, 29, is coming off the best season of his seven-year career, all of which has been spent with the Sox. In 2021, he went 13-5 with a 2.37 ERA in 24 starts, earned the first All-Star appearance of his career and pitched a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians on April 14. He finished fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting.

Still, injuries plagued Rodon, limiting him to just seven starts (including one in the postseason) after Aug. 1. Health has been a problem for the veteran left-hander throughout his career. He pitched 132.2 innings last season, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it's actually good by Rodon's standards. That was his highest total of innings pitched since 2016, when he threw a career-best 165 innings.

Perhaps it was those durability concerns that led the Sox to not offer Rodon the one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer before the start of the lockout.

Turns out, that decision by the Sox worked in Rodon's favor, as he received more on the open market. The Giants will pay him $21.5 million in 2022, and $22.5 million in 2023. The deal has an opt-out clause that can be activated after this season.

My reaction: I'm glad Rodon did not sign anywhere else in the AL Central, especially with the pitching-starved Minnesota Twins. I'm also glad he did not sign with the crosstown Cubs. History tells us he will deal with injuries again, but when he's healthy enough to pitch, he can be very effective.

Last season, he was the best pitcher in the AL the first half of the season. It won't be easy to replace those 132.2 quality innings. But, with Rodon in San Francisco, Sox fans can still cheer for him if he does well, because any success he has in the NL West is unlikely to bring harm to the Sox.

No doubt, the Sox front office will receive some criticism for not tendering Rodon a qualifying offer, as the team now will not receive any draft pick compensation.

Right now, the Sox rotation looks like this: Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Dylan Cease, Dallas Keuchel and Michael Kopech. If anyone gets injured, Reynaldo Lopez is the next man up. We'll see if there are any further additions now that the lockout has been lifted.