Chicago White Sox: Is Alex Colome the long-term closer?

The Chicago White Sox know who their closer will be to start the 2020 season when and if it begins, but the long-term picture at the end of the game is in question.

The Chicago White Sox were certainly happy to get the performance they got from Alex Colome as their closer in 2019.

Colome, 31, had a 2.80 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.066 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, and 30 saves over 62 appearances.

It’s almost certain that when and if the 2020 season starts that Colome will reprise his role as the team’s closer.

However, this is his last year of team control before hitting free agency after the season (Spotrac).

The team could possibly retain him and what happens with the league this year could prove to matter.

It’s possible, still, that Colome will not end up pitching an inning for the South Side this season, which will leave all MLB teams competing for his services based on their views of him after the 2019 season.

If the Chicago White Sox want to retain him, they probably would have the best shot in this scenario as their familiarity with Colome’s 2019 success would make them likely to offer the most money and he would probably prefer to stay with a team he had success with.

Now, if the team doesn’t want to retain Colome, this could go in two directions.

Either the team will give the job to the recently extended Aaron Bummer or Steve Cishek, who has a club option for the 2021 season, or they will turn to the free agent market for a top-tier reliever to replace Colome.

If there is an MLB season, though, the team will get one more look at Colome before having to make a decision on his future with the organization.

Moving on from Colome could actually make a lot of sense if Bummer is as impressive as he was in 2019.

It certainly will be interesting to see what impact the ability to have a season in 2020 has on the future of Alex Colome with the Chicago White Sox. Either way, this could be their most interesting case with an impending free agent this offseason.