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Southside Showdown

Three relievers White Sox should try to sign

By Joshua Finkelstein

HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 30: Will Harris #36 of the Houston Astros delivers the pitch against the Washington Nationals during the seventh inning in Game Seven of the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 30, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 30: Will Harris #36 of the Houston Astros delivers the pitch against the Washington Nationals during the seventh inning in Game Seven of the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 30, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 13: Collin McHugh #31 of the Houston Astros pitches the 9th inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on August 13, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois. The Astros defeated the White Sox 6-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 13: Collin McHugh #31 of the Houston Astros pitches the 9th inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on August 13, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois. The Astros defeated the White Sox 6-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

1. Collin McHugh

The right-hander has somewhat become a jack-of-all-trades pitcher at this stage of his career as he’s proven capable of starting and relieving.

Over the last two seasons, McHugh has mostly been pitching out of the bullpen with a superb 2018 season highlighting his success there.

He very well might have had his best season as a major leaguer that season with an elite 1.99 ERA, 2.72 FIP, and 0.912 WHIP which was aided by a career-high 11.7 K/9 as compared to 2.6 BB/9.

In 2019, though, the Houston Astros pushed him back into the rotation with Lance McCullers Jr. out for the season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery and Charlie Morton leaving during the previous offseason to join the Tampa Bay Rays.

His 6.37 ERA in eight starts led the team to move him back to the bullpen where he looked much better over 27 appearances with a 2.67 ERA. His strikeout rate was notably higher as a reliever (10.7 K/9) than as a starter (9.2 K/9).

Well, the White Sox only really need him to be dominant as a reliever and given the 32-year-old’s success over the last two seasons in that role, there’s no reason for the team to not sign him.

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