Chicago White Sox Rumors: Liam Hendriks still in play
The Chicago White Sox are still very much in play for Liam Hendriks.
The Chicago White Sox are a very good team. MLB dot com has them as the sixth-best team on their first power ranking of the 2021 calendar year and they were close to putting them fifth. Things are coming along as they have a good starting rotation and a very good starting batting lineup. Of course, their bullpen is awesome as well but they need one more big piece. That big piece would be a great closer.
According to FanSided‘s own Robert Murray, the White Sox are still interested in free-agent closer, Liam Hendriks. Hendriks is now a former Oakland Athletics closer who also spent time with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Kansas City Royals. For the past two seasons, he has been one of the best closers in all of baseball, and now he is looking to find a new home on the free-agent market.
The White Sox would obviously be the perfect fit if he did decide to join them. They are a team that is on the verge of being elite so adding an elite closer might get them there. Hendriks is certainly an elite closer that would help the White Sox do some great things. If they had a one-run lead (or more) and he came into the ball game, everyone would be certain that they are going to come out with a win.
Of course, the White Sox have had a very good closer for two straight years with Alex Colome. He is capable of getting the job done too but there has been so much more noise about Hendriks. Colome was a great pitcher for the Sox but he is also a free agent now. He is a good plan-B at this point because Hendriks is clearly the better pitcher. Landing him wouldn’t win the White Sox the World Series or anything like that but it would certainly put them in a position to do so.
Dodgers have strong interest in free-agent reliever Liam Hendriks, according to league sources. Hendriks is visiting the Blue Jays complex in Dunedin today and is drawing interest from the White Sox, among others.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 4, 2021
It seems, according to Murray, that the White Sox aren’t the only team in pursuit of Hendriks for 2021. Who could blame any team in the league for going to this guy? He had a 1.78 ERA and a 0.671 WHIP in just 25.1 innings. It is remarkable for a team’s closer to have a 1.4 WAR in that little amount of innings/games but here he is. He even received Cy Young and MVP votes because he was so good.
Hot. Lucas Giolito's comments are so exciting. light
It would be really nice to see the White Sox land a guy like this. He is exactly what they need right now to fill the last major hole on the roster. Aaron Bummer, Jace Fry, Codi Heuer, Matt Foster, and Evan Marshall amongst others are going to make up a nasty bullpen so adding Hendriks in to close things out would be so cool to watch.