The 5 – Reasons Carlos Rodon didn’t receive a Qualifying Offer

In honor of a potentially lengthy off-season in which there will be more lulls than L0lz, I bring you the 5. 5 Reasons Carlos Rodon didn’t receive a Qualifying Offer.

5 – He’s got a bum wing

Carlos Rodon lead the the White Sox starting pitching staff in fWar in 2021, with 4.9 and he did that in only 132 2/3 innings pitched. Most of which was before the mid-summer classic. Rodon only pitched into the 7th inning one time after the all-star break. Only making 9 total starts, a few of which were at reduced velocity.

It’s the first place White Sox fans heads went when the $18.4 million qualifying offer wasn’t submitted to Rodon. I’m not sure I believe this, given that his velocity and pitch movement were essentially back in his short playoff start versus Houston. Although it does seems plausible.

4 – Accepting Could Slow Other Free Agent Pursuits

The qualifying offer is $18.4 million as aforementioned, the White Sox also picked up the $16 million dollar option on Craig Kimbrel, that would $34.4 million in outlays before they’ve even addressed their two most pressing holes at Second Base and Right Field. As of this second, Spotrac has the White Sox payroll 4th overall in MLB at $156 million. Add that $18.4 million in and that gets you to $174.4 million.

Monkeys will fly outta my butt before we see a White Sox payroll hit $200 million. So I think while having Carlos on the roster would be better than not, he would freeze the White Sox in place until they can trade away Craig Kimbrel. We don’t need or want another Jon Jay off-season.

SIDE NOTE: Players that sign the qualifying offer can’t be traded until June 15th, so that would create a secondary problem of not being able to move things.

3 – The White Sox just didn’t think he was worth it

It’s entirely possible the White Sox weren’t even worried about off-season maneuvering power. Maybe they just didn’t think ‘Los was worth that high of an AAV even for one season. As great as he was last year, I can’t church up his previous 4 seasons in which he was a little rough, not durable and often injured. Truth be told, he has 11.9 career fWar, with only 7.0 coming in his first 6 seasons with the White Sox. YMMV as the kids used to say.

2 – They had a hand shake deal with Rodon before the season

I know this sounds wild, but maybe as an extra incentive to come back to the White Sox and sign the $3 million prove-it deal, the team told him they wouldn’t impede his free agency if things broke right. In a way, it seems possible. You notice he didn’t get the “Hahn Special” which is usually some sort of option year on the back end of the 1 year deal. Adam Eaton had that, Carlos Rodon did not. It’s entirely possible they shook on this before the season and Hahn is a man of his word.

The qualifying offer can and does impede players quest for maximizing dollars with their future employer, so maybe it was a benefit the White Sox never thought they’d have to cash in.

1 – They did a personal favor for Scott Boras

It never hurts to try and curry favor with the top agent in the game. Scott Boras is 100% that man. I was thinking, what is a compensation pick from your qualifying offer free agent leaving, worth? Luckily, the internet is filled with wonderful information and resources, so first, I check out what draft pick the White Sox would receive. They would apparently receive a compensation pick after the Competitive Balance B Round. Wtf is that?

Don’t worry about it. All you need to know is that in 2021, the Competitive Balance B Round was picks 64 thru 71. Let’s round that pick to 70, because I am lazy and love round numbers. Now what is the 70th pick in the MLB Draft worth. Taking a look at this 2019 study at Fangraphs by Craig Edwards, he estimates that the 70th draft pick is worth approximately $3.8 million.

THAT’S IT!?!?!?!? Just $3.8 million of “value” to get ole Scotty boy to think a little more highly of you and potentially share some of his many clients with you. Makes you wonder.

Do these “explanations” sound crazy town, banana pants to you? Let’s hear what you got. Hit me up on the twitters and help me make sense of this thing.

-BeefLoaf