The Chicago White Sox won a wild game on Friday night. It came after their big trade deadline week where they made some moves to improve their chances at making a deep run in 2021. It also came against the Cleveland Indians who they are trying to break away from in the American League Central Division. Lance Lynn’s big performance backed up by the offense made a huge difference in the win.
Now, it is time to seriously start thinking about making a run. They got trade season going when they acquired Cesar Hernandez from Cleveland to be their new second baseman. A few hours later, they acquired Ryan Tepera from the Chicago Cubs to help bolster their bullpen. They would have been set with those moves alone.
Less than a day later, the White Sox acquired Craig Kimbrel from those Cubs as well. That is the type of move that puts the rest of the league on notice about how serious they are. He will set up their bullpen as nicely as any team in the league.
In Tepera’s first appearance, he did not have a good time. He let up a home run to the first batter he faced in a White Sox uniform. You had to feel bad for him because of the fact that a Cub came to the White Sox and failed in his first attempt. It was also the first run he gave up in the month of July on the second to last day so you can be confident that he will be fine. There were clearly some nerves.
Tepera will be one of the great setup men along with Michael Kopech and Aaron Bummer. Following them will be Liam Hendriks and Craig Kimbrel as two potential closers. It is as nice of a group as the White Sox have ever had.
The Chicago White Sox has what it takes to turn 2021 into a very special year.
The offense has been sort of a sore spot this season but injuries to guys like Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, and Yasmani Grandal have contributed to that. As they all start to get healthy, they will start to score more runs. With other studs like Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, and Jose Abreu there as well, things will be just fine.
There is nobody in the American League that is better than the White Sox on paper. A lot of teams have more experience and are equally as capable of winning but the White Sox need to earn that experience as well. The trade deadline has come and gone along with the first game since and it is looking really good. It is time to make a run at the World Series.