Season Roster Preview starts with an in-depth analysis of the projected Chicago White Sox bullpen pitchers that will be on the 26-man roster March 26.
It has been said that the last piece a team needs to make a championship run is the perfect lights-out bullpen. The Chicago White Sox have that potential with theirs. The San Francisco Giants had their stellar overall pitching staff in their even-year championships. The 2017 Houston Astros had a shutdown backend with Luke Gregorson, Ken Giles, Chris Devinski and Will Harris. And of course the 2015 Royals with one of the best bullpens in MLB history with Kelvin Herrera, Greg Holland, Wade Davis, and many others.
To the surprise of many, four White Sox relievers held a sub 2.80 ERA last season. Among the four was a free agent who was expected to perform well, so maybe no surprise with at least one but the other three all share a common denominator which is a failure.
These relievers have never quite seen success at the major league level. The quick turnaround of these three players will make it easier on the front office when beefing up the bullpen becomes a priority. It is no question these arms will be key to hold onto moving into the next phase of the rebuild which is competing.
Some other names filling out the bullpen held their own and put up decent numbers. These relievers have either had previous success or they can still tap into the potential they have been associated with. The White Sox have taken a bunch of really good relievers and brought them in hoping they can form a really good bullpen. It is pivotal to their success in 2020 so we will see how it goes.