White Sox: Closer Role Will Remain Up In The Air For Now
By Matt Manetti
The White Sox are without a closer after trading Tyler Clippard. No relief pitcher on the roster has a save this season.
The Chicago White Sox once again find themselves without a closer. But it’s not something Rick Renteria is going to worry about. The skipper described the role as fluid in an interview with MLB.com’s Ryan Posner. Renteria said he will use this opportunity to give a lot of guys some looks and play the match ups.
"“We’re going to do the best we can to use a lot of our guys and give them different opportunities in different situations. Obviously, we’re going to do the best we can to try and match them up.”– Rick Renteria, White Sox Manager"
As we know, Rick Hahn traded the guys who had closer experience. David Robertson and Anthony Swarzak were two guys who had saves but were dealt. Same can be said for Dan Jennings. Then there are the injuries to Nate Jones and Zach Putnam. Both of the those guys were key cogs in the bullpen but saw their seasons cut short due to injury.
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Another unfortunate thing is Zack Burdi needing Tommy John surgery. This would have been a good spot for him to come up and get some experience. Obviously that is not an option anymore. It would have prepared him for what he would see in a few years when this team is ready to contend.
In the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t feel like that big a deal. The season is almost over and the White Sox are not really playing for anything. If anything, they want to lose games so they get a high draft pick.
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Having no natural closer shouldn’t be a big deal for Renteria. He has guys he can plug in. And after all, he can always play the match ups like he said. It may even allow him to take a look at someone who can inherit the role next season.