The 2013 White Sox bullpen could fly under the radar yet again (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports).

The White Sox recent signing of free agent relief pitcher Matt Lindstrom not only reminded me that the White Sox are, indeed, allowed to make offseason moves, but got me thinking about the state of the bullpen.

A bullpen that, in 2012, featured two rookies as closers, rookies as setup men and a rookie as a left-handed specialist.   A bullpen that everyone expected to eventually wear down last season, yet never did.  A bullpen that now features Addison Reed, Nate Jones and Hector Santiago with a year under their belts.  A bullpen that replaces Will Ohman and Zach Stewart from last year’s opening day roster with Donnie Veal and Lindstrom for this year.

So excuse me if I’m a little bullish about the 2013 White Sox bullpen.  If Reed can grab a tight hold onto the closer’s role (a significant “if”), then the bullpen roles are already clear as day.  Santiago and Jones should serve as the long-relievers, Donnie Veal as the left-handed specialist, Jesse Crain, Matt Thornton and Lindstrom as the setup men and Reed as the closer.

Taking a step back and looking at these roles, there seems to be a nice balance between rights and lefties, as well as young and old.

The Sox will have long-relievers from both sides of the mound, whose maturity should benefit from not being used in too many pressure-packed situations (although both have experience in those situations from last year).  Veal filled the left-handed specialist role (sometimes affectionately known as a “LOOGY”) nearly perfectly, allowing only five base runners over 34 plate appearances against left-handed hitters. The White Sox will have veterans in setup roles from both sides of the mound to pitch in those before mentioned crucial situations and who also will provide insurance (especially Lindstrom) to Reed in case he struggles.

The most likely situation for bullpen failure (and frankly, the most damaging scenario) is if Reed struggles in the closer role.  While ERA isn’t as telling of a stat for relievers as it is for starters, Reed’s 4.75 ERA and 1.36 WHIP are reasons for concern.  However, Reed was still 29 for 33 in save opportunities last season.

While Reed’s 33 opportunities at trying to close games last season could prove valuable for next season, he never seemed like a guy who let the game affect his nerves or emotions.  His 62 appearances from last season should give him greater arm endurance for this upcoming season, which could prove vital in August and September.

The 2012 White Sox bullpen was a Kenny Williams specialty, completely flying under the radar and surpassing most, if not all, expectations.  Yet even though major league hitters have now seen the Sox’s young guns over the course of a season, don’t be surprised if this bullpen—one that seems to have its pieces in place and has a good mix of both righties and lefties, as well as young and old—somehow gets overlooked by many yet again.  And that’s probably just the way they like it.

I had pined for Lindstrom for most of January. The list of available relievers is comprised entirely of arms no team would bend over to commit multiple years to, and Lindstrom–with his league-average strikeout rate, and peripherals that suggested he should have been almost a run worse than his 2.85 ERA over the past two seasons–is not necessarily an exception.

And yet, for the White Sox to secure Lindstrom with a commitment that does not stretch beyond 2013 with a club option for the next season, has a bit good fortune to it. The Dodgers gave Brandon League three years, a personal island and three dozen fatted calves to provide a similar product earlier in this off-season, so while waiting until January 19th to fill an obvious right-handed set-up man vacancy was risky and frustrating, it could very well have had its benefits.

The financial terms have not been released yet, but it’s hard to imagine Lindstrom receiving much beyond $4 million, and he should have a fair chance of earning it.

There is a healthy share of disabled list stints in Lindstrom’s history, but nothing that suggests structural problems in his arm over the past year. There’s been some velocity loss from the days where he averaged 96+ mph, but that can partly be explained with a transition to a sinker-type fastball that has in turn produced a steadily climbing groundball rate. His succes over the past two seasons (101 IP, 2.85 ERA) is peripheral-defying (3.80 FIP), but it still provides an acceptable floor for his abilities, and will make him a good partner for Jesse Crain.

There’s even some closing experience, if  that’s the sort of thing you value.

Lindstrom is unlikely to become a player that White Sox fans grow to love and adore, and in the examination of the off-season at large, he does nothing to stanch the flow of discontent about the inaction or lack of a direction. But there’s a role for him, it’s a small one–retire right-handed batters in the 7th and 8th inning–and he’s not bad for it at all.

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RH Setup Man – Jesse Crain: Gets a lot of crap for someone who has put up a 2.54 ERA and stranded a slightly above-average percentage of inherited runners in two years on the South side.

LH Setup Man – Matt Thornton: Not sure how long this fair-to-middling production can last as his velocity dips and reliance on breaking stuff ramps up, but it’d be easier for him if he could be more specialized.

Middle Relief – Nate Jones: As Jim Margalus got into earlier, Jones by all means had a good 2012 where he performed better than what could have been expected, but neither showed the dominant slider nor good enough control to earn a promotion to a larger role.

LOOGY – Donnie Veal: What a LOOGY!

From here, two more right-handers are needed to fill out the pen area. The Sox certainly have numbers, with Brian Omogrosso, Nate’s boy Jhan Marinez, Deunte Heath or even Hector Santiago (who is obviously left-handed). Spring Training will open up even more possibilities.

That’s fine. But with Thornton fighting regression, Reed finding himself, Crain looking to brutally defy what logic says should happen when a flyball pitcher plays in a softball stadium for a third-straight year, and Nate Jones, it might be best to have another above-average arm to move around in the very likely scenario that one of the top-4 is not up to the requirements of their prescribed role.

That was the logic of the Brett Myers acquisition, and just because picking up Brett Myers’ option would have been crazy doesn’t mean the need has been removed. Just like the backup catcher slot discussed on Sunday, a bullpen is a fine area to trim the financial fat, but the Sox lack notable impact relief prospects that can help in 2013, and can find affordable help in early January, now that markets have cooled.

Vaguely capable arms Matt Lindstrom, Brandon Lyon, Scott Atchison, and even Franciso Rodriguez is milling about. I’d suggest crazier reclamation projects like Jose Contreras and Bobby Jenks if it could be confirmed that either was physically capable of standing up and throwing a pitch, which should indicate how welcome a veteran flier would be.

Crowing for bullpen help is an easy route to madness, as is checking every day to see if the White Sox will do anything during this off-season. But so little investment and interest is needed to shore up what has been an openly stated goal, that something just has to happen soon.

 
Follow James Fegan on Twitter @JRFegan