Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson saw a familiar face when he stepped into the batter’s box Thursday at Camelback Ranch.
He led off the bottom of the first squaring off against former teammate Carlos Rodón.
Anderson singled to right on the second pitch from the new member of the San Francisco Giants.
“It’s a hit I’ve seen Tim do 300 to 400 times,” Rodón said with a smile. “He hits the ball away like that. See fastball away, boop, takes his hits. Good job from him. Pretty normal to watch Tim do that, just from the different side.”
Rodón, 29, struck out Luis Robert and José Abreu and got Yoán Moncada to hit a grounder to third to wrap up a scoreless first inning.
The left-hander, who signed a two-year, $44 million deal with the Giants this offseason, allowed one run on two hits and struck out four in 2? innings. He got a nice ovation after leaving the game.
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“It’s funny, making that first start over here and bringing it home,” Rodón said. “It was cool. Some laughs, a little junk talk but it was fun.”
The Sox selected Rodón with the third pick in the 2014 draft. He went 42-38 with a 3.79 ERA in 121 appearances (116 starts) during seven seasons. Injuries hampered him before it all came together last season, when he went 13-5 with a 2.37 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 24 starts.
“Long road,” Rodón said. “You know the road I’ve been down, but there’s beauty in the struggle. That’s how I got here, going through those ups and downs and learning who I am. It helped.”
He pitched a no-hitter and made his first All-Star team in the breakout season. He was fifth in the American League Cy Young Award voting.
“Did a great job for us,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said Thursday. “I’m really happy he’s not in our league. That means I can pull for him. We had a great relationship, coaches, pitching staff. All of us appreciated what he did.”
Rodón was on the injured list Aug. 11-26 with left shoulder fatigue and dealt with “normal soreness” for a portion of September.
“If he would have stayed healthy, you know what kind of year he would have had?” La Russa said. “Contending for Cy Young, right. Just hope he stays healthy.”
Rodón said of La Russa: “It was a pleasure to play under a manager with a pretty historical career.”
Rodón said there were some talks with the Sox, but he ultimately landed in San Francisco.
“It’s hard to leave an organization that you played your whole career for but it’s part of the game, it’s part of the business and you move on,” Rodón said. “I’m excited to be a Giant. This is a very, very good organization. They won 108 games last year.
“It’s good to be part of a contender, leaving a contender. I’m lucky to be with this organization and be with a good group of guys. And playing with the White Sox was a pleasure.”
When Rodón saw that he would be facing the Sox, he said: “Here we go, I guess. Start it up.”
Rodón surrendered a solo home run to Eloy Jiménez in the second inning.
“Changeup right there, and he smoked it,” Rodón said. “Lot of power, man, lot of power from Eloy.”
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Rodón enjoyed the chirping from his former teammates and is looking forward to the new opportunity with the Giants.
“Baseball is such a special game because you make so many relationships,” he said. “I’ve never stepped in a new clubhouse. Just a lot of names, a lot of faces I’ve got to learn. But it’s fun.
“It’s cool to experience a different organization and see what’s different.”
Sox claim pitcher Yoán Aybar off waivers
The Sox claimed left-hander Yoán Aybar off waivers from the New York Yankees and placed right-hander Jonathan Stiever on the 60-day injured list.
Aybar, 24, was claimed off waivers by the Yankees from the Colorado Rockies on March 20 after being designated for assignment two days earlier. He went 2-6 with a 6.22 ERA, 53 strikeouts and two saves in 49 relief outings for the Rockies’ Double-A team, the Hartford Yard Goats, last season.
Stiever, 23, underwent season-ending surgery on his right lat on Aug. 23. He made 17 starts at Triple-A Charlotte and one relief appearance for the Sox last season.