Sox reveal Rodon on own schedule
GLENDALE, Ariz.— Carlos Rodon threw off a mound Friday for the first time this spring, and he will again Sunday, pitching coach Don Cooper said.
“He passed with flying colors,’’ Cooper said. “He’s starting to climb now.’’
Cooper revealed Rodon “had some arm stuff that was bothering him a little bit’’ last season, a disclosure that added insight to why the 24- year- old left- hander is taking a slower approach to getting ready for the season.
“Part of it is he had some problems last year,” Cooper said. “We want to see if we can eliminate those problems, so we set up a little bit of a special schedule for him.”
Rodon went on the disabled list July 9 with a sprained wrist after he slipped in the dugout, but arm issues were never publicized. General manager Rick Hahn, who spoke after Cooper, said Rodon dealt with arm “fatigue” between starts, altered his routine, rested while on the DL and finished the season strong.
“That in itself never would have risen to the point of putting him on the DL,” Hahn said.
Pitchers working through fatigue or soreness isn’t uncommon. Rodon has said he feels good, and the Sox have insisted all along he’s healthy.
“Anything that was going on with the arm last season certainly didn’t rise to the level of what we would call injury or being hurt,” Hahn said.
Working through a 35- pitch bullpen session despite being under the weather would indicate Rodon is healthy. But he’s behind everyone else. Manager Rick Renteria suggested Rodon might not be ready for the first week of the season because of his delayed schedule.
“We’re probably trying to handle him a little bit more based on his history with us last year,’’ Renteria said.
Rodon, who was dealing with stomach issues, was unavailable for comment.
Abreu returns
Jose Abreu was in the lineup against the Padres, happy and relieved his two days of giving testimony in federal court in Miami are behind him.
“I just hope the new kids who have this dream to play in the majors don’t have to pass through the whole journey that I had to pass,” Abreu said through an interpreter
He testified in the trial of former agent BartoloHernandez and his trainer and friend Julio Estrada. They’re accused of illegally smuggling Cuban players into the United States. In court, Abreu said he ate a page of a fake passport on a flight to the U. S., fearing it would be discovered. That is one small part of what he went through to get to the U. S. And to bring his family.
“I’m just very glad to be here and that all of those problems are behind me,” Abreu said. “I feel happy.’’
Abreu called the entire ordeal a “learning experience.”