Chicago White Sox: Back end of bullpen has been dominant

The Chicago White Sox are not contenders this year, but they have as good of a late-inning bullpen as anyone in the league.

The Chicago White Sox have been less than dominant since the second half of the year began. They were around a .500 team before the All-Star break but some things have gone south since then. Their lack of depth in the starting lineup reared its ugly head in the second half and it couldn’t match the fact that their starting pitching was really starting to come around.

The one thing that has been really consistent for the White Sox in 2019 has been their bullpen. Now they’re not the best in the league but they would be good enough to trust if the White Sox were headed to the postseason. They are set up nicely if they somehow figure out a way to be a division contender in 2020.

This bullpen has been especially good in the later portions of games. They are 44-0 when leading after eight innings. That has meant that if the White Sox take a lead into the eighth inning or later they were going to win the game. Out of their 56 wins, 44 of those were by virtue of winning the game after shutting down the other team in the eighth inning or later. That is exactly what teams looking to make deep postseason runs need to succeed in the playoffs.

There are a few different players to recognize when talking about the White Sox bullpen. Alex Colome has been a really good closer for the White Sox as he has made 24 saves in 25 opportunities. The one blown save came in the seventh inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox, that the White Sox ended up winning anyway. The blown save also happened thanks to a defensive error.

There is also Aaron Bummer and Evan Marshall to thank for the good bullpen pitching for the White Sox. All of these guys have been good and they are hoping that they show up again next year when this team is really ready to compete. They could have easily traded a few arms at the deadline, but they decided to keep them and look towards the future with them.

Pitching is everything in the MLB postseason and once the White Sox are able to surround the back of the bullpen with better starting pitching and a deeper starting lineup they will be put to better use. Teams like the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs would love to have some of the arms in the White Sox bullpen for the 2019 season. Boston is in danger of missing the playoffs one year after winning the World Series and the Cubs don’t look like they have the bullpen to succeed in the playoffs.

It is extremely important that they keep this up and go into the offseason with lots of confidence. 2020 is looking like it could be a big year for the Sox and having a good bullpen to supplement it all is really important as well.