Moving Michael Kopech to the bullpen has rejuvenated his career.
Getz decided to pull the plug on Kopech being a starter during spring training. So while not officially an offseason decision, it was made before the season started, so it meets the criteria.
Kopech was outstanding in 2021 coming out of the bullpen. Say what you want about Tony La Russa's second tour as the White Sox manager, he deserves credit on how to deploy Kopech out of the pen. He was a high-leverage weapon La Russa could use to get multiple big outs.
Kopech was not the same pitcher as a starter. His velocity was not as high, and he did not trust any of his pitches besides his four-seam fastball. If that pitch had no movement to it, hitters were going to a get piece of it and send the ball very, very far.
Now he is back in the pen and the velocity is back. Kopech is a fun pitcher to watch again. The only problem Kopech has is sometimes he does not want to throw any pitch besides his heater. If he can trust his slider and cutter, he has a chance to be an outstanding closer.
He has only had three outings where he looked like the Kopech the starter. Otherwise, he has two saves on the season and if he can keep mixing in his secondary pitches for strikes, he will get good results. The Sox need that as they could flip him at the deadline since a rebuild does not need a top of the line closer.