White Sox: Attainable Goals For This Upcoming Season

Pitching

Toward the end of the season the White Sox figured out the right rotations for both the starting pitchers and the bullpen. After some configuration and modification, the starting rotation was set without any changes for majority of the season. The departures of Mat Latos and John Danks cleared up two spots at the end of the rotation and they were filled up by James Shields and Miguel Gonzalez.

The bullpen had also established their roles fairly early on in the season. Matt Albers was the go-to middle reliever after the starter’s day was done. Albers was then followed by another reliever, depending on how Albers’ outing went, and then Nate Jones, the setup man and finally David Robertson, the closer.

Now that Chris Sale is gone, perhaps Jose Quintana and Robertson as well, a goal for the pitching staff is to reestablish those roles. If Quintana stays or goes, the case for Carlos Rodon to be the No. 1 starter in the rotation can be made just for him to get used to that role. He’ll likely take that role in the near future if he continues to improve and the roster continues to get redone.

The bullpen could see many new faces because of the prospects the Sox acquired this offseason. It will be important to see which pitchers will get full bullpen responsibilities and which pitchers get cameo roles throughout the 2017 season.