White Sox need to add a reliever this offseason
While it is not their biggest need or even close to it, the Chicago White Sox need to add a proven reliever or two this offseason.
The White Sox definitely don’t need this to be their biggest focus as they have much more pressing needs such as filling out their rotation and acquiring a right fielder.
That being said, the team definitely can’t ignore adding bullpen help in favor of making bigger moves.
Signing Zack Wheeler or Stephen Strasburg would be great, but if the team’s bullpen can’t protect a one-or-two-run lead, it could all be for nothing.
Now, to be fair, the White Sox bullpen actually was in the middle of the pack in 2019 as they ranked 14th in all of baseball and seventh in the American League with a 4.31 ERA as detailed by ESPN.
If you look at the team’s roster, though, it’s tough to find many options that will stick and be successful in 2020. Alex Colome is an obvious name that should not concern anyone.
Aaron Bummer was very impressive in 2019 with a 2.13 ERA, 3.41 FIP, and 0.990 WHIP with 8.0 K/9 as compared to 3.2 BB/9. But, with a career ERA of 4.36 prior to this past season, it is certainly possible that he regresses.
Evan Marshall could be a good option too as he had a 2.49 ERA in 2019, but with a career 7.89 ERA prior to that, it is far from a given especially considering his FIP this past season was 4.30.
Kelvin Herrera is almost certain to be with the team in 2020, but that’s due to the fact he’s set to make $8.5 million (Spotrac).
His 6.14 ERA certainly is not desirable and while the team could certainly hope he bounces back to his 2018 form in which he had a 2.44 ERA, they can’t bank on it.
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On the free agent market, the White Sox should look to sign someone from the Will Harris, Dellin Betances, and Steve Cishek tier and then sign a few relievers to very low salary MLB and minor league deals.