When the Chicago White Sox dealt for Craig Kimbrel at the trade deadline and it looked like they had the scariest back end of the bullpen in all of baseball. Things didn’t work out as planned.
The White Sox gave up two solid young pieces in the deal. The team traded 2B Nick Madrigal and right-handed relief pitcher, Codi Heuer, in return for Kimbrel and it is going to work out quite well for the Cubs.
Kimbrel pitched exceptionally well on the north side of Chicago. In 36.2 innings pitched, he totaled 23 saves, a 0.49 ERA, and 0.71 WHIP while striking out 64 batters and only allowing two earned runs. On the Southside, things were opposite. In 23 innings, he totaled one save while accumulating a 5.09 ERA and 1.22 WHIP while striking out 36 batters and allowing 13 earned runs.
One of the biggest strengths on paper for the White Sox even heading into the 2022 season will be the bullpen. With Kimbrel still on the roster, the White Sox have an incredibly deep bullpen with the likes of Garrett Crochet, Aaron Bummer, Kendall Graveman, and Liam Hendriks.
Trading Craig Kimbrel might be a good idea for the Chicago White Sox.
Kimbrel will likely be moved, and there should be a multitude of suitors as back-end bullpen help is always a necessity.
One team that may need back-end bullpen help is the New York Mets. The team just lost Aaron Loup to the Los Angeles Angels and there are doubts whether Edwin Diaz is the best choice to close out games for them.
The Mets are in win-now mode, especially after their recent free-agent acquisitions, and may look to add as much talent to their roster for the immediate future.