White Sox monitoring Rodon's innings total

CHICAGO - Carlos Rodon's first big league start on Saturday against the Reds doesn't necessarily indicate the eventual rotation move for the left-hander officially is under way, as the White Sox continue to monitor his first-season innings total.

"There's no guarantees that he's gonna stay in the rotation even if he has a good game," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said of the club's No. 1 prospect. "I expect him to have a good game. The way it sits right now, he would still be back in the bullpen and getting us some innings there."

Ventura believes that Rodon is stretched out enough to hopefully go six or seven innings, with no restrictions set on his pitch count. Being set up as a starter stands as a more natural routine for the White Sox top prospect, who worked almost exclusively as part of the rotation before reaching the Majors.

"But he knew coming up here that he was gonna be in the bullpen," Ventura said. "That's just part of the learning curve of being able to be up here and get people out. I would think it would be more natural for him to prepare for a start than it would be going to the bullpen."

• The White Sox currently have 23 eligible players on the roster because of the five-game suspensions being served by left-hander Chris Sale and right-hander Jeff Samardzija.

• Former White Sox outfielder Aaron Rowand will serve as the television analyst for the White Sox series in Oakland from May 15-17. Regular analyst Steve Stone has the series off.