A freak dugout injury is sending Carlos Rodon to the DL.
The White Sox announced Saturday morning Rodon has been placed on the 15-day DL with a sprained left wrist. He hurt himself falling on the dugout steps.
Carlos Rodon said he slipped going up the dugout steps yesterday and had to brace his fall with his wrist.
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) July 9, 2016
Rodon will wear a wrist brace for the next 7-10 days. The hope is he will miss only one start and not need to go out on a minor-league rehab assignment.
The injury is to his throwing wrist though, so the White Sox need to make sure he's 100 percent before sending him back out. If Rodon can't grip the baseball properly because his wrist isn't healthy, it's a problem.
There's no good time for an injury, though the upcoming All-Star break softens some of the blow. Rodon was placed on the DL retroactive to July 6, meaning he'll be eligible to return July 21, in Chicago's seventh game of the second half. The team will need a spot starter on July 19, the fifth game after the break.
Rodon, 23, is 2-7 with a 4.50 ERA (91 ERA+) in 16 starts and 92 innings this season. He made his MLB debut last April and had a solid rookie season, going 9-6 with a 3.75 ERA (104 ERA+) in 139 1/3 innings. Thanks to his devastating slider, Rodon has 230 strikeouts in 231 1/3 career innings.
The ChiSox selected Rodon out of NC State with the No. 3 pick in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft. He was in the big leagues 10 months later and has not gone back to the minors since.
Chicago comes into Saturday tied for third in the AL Central at 44-42. They're eight games back in the division and 3 1/2 games back of the second wild card spot.
