Should the White Sox target or avoid these three veteran relievers in free agency?

As the offseason heats up following the Thanksgiving holiday, many teams across baseball resume their search for pitching reinforcements. No team ever believes they have enough pitching, so the market is certain to be competitive. The White Sox bullpen had an inconsistent season in 2025. Overall, they finished with a 4.16 ERA, which was in the bottom half of the league. Despite some emerging arms like Grant Taylor, Mike Vasil, and Jordan Leasure, the White Sox will certainly be on the hunt for reinforcements to bolster the pen. Here are a few realistic veterans the White Sox could target for the bullpen and whether or not they should pursue it. 

RHP Emilio Pagan 

The White Sox could definitely hand the close role over to Grant Taylor or Jordan Leasure in 2026, but with Taylor likely taking on a multi-inning role and Leasure inconsistent in 2025, the team may choose to pursue an established closer. Big names like Edwin Diaz, Devin Williams, and Pete Fairbanks are likely to be out of the White Sox price range. In this case, the White Sox could look at Emilio Pagan. The 35 year-old Pagan took over the closer role for the Cincinnati Reds this season and went 32 for 38 in save opportunities. Pagan struck out 81 hitters in 68.2 innings and held hitters to just a .168 batting average. Pagan’s underlying metrics look even better than his surface numbers. His 32% chase rate and 30% strikeout rate were among the best in baseball. His hard-hit rate also ranked above average. The only downside was Pagan’s slightly above average walk-rate. He’ll turn 35 in May, but he’s shown no sign of slowing down. He’ll have a crowded market, but the White Sox could be involved for a reliable late-inning arm. 

Verdict: Target 

LHP Taylor Rogers 

A longtime Minnesota Twin, Rogers has been a reliable presence as a middle-reliever for the duration of his career. He joined the Giants in 2022 after six years in Minnesota and a short stint with the Padres and Brewers, and continued to post solid numbers. He was traded to Cincinnati to begin the 2025 season and had a 2.45 ERA before a deadline trade to the Cubs. Rogers struggled down the stretch to a 5.09 ERA in 17 appearances with the Cubs, and will now hit free agency before his age 35 season. Unlike Pagan, however, the underlying metric for Rogers don’t look great. His fastball has lost velocity and his walk-rate reached 10% in 2025. When opponents made contact, they hit the ball hard nearly 45% of the time. Rogers used to thrive on ground-balls, but his ground ball rate has dipped to just average. It could be an outlier, but at 35 years old, there’s certainly reason for concern. If the White Sox want a left-handed reliever named Rogers, they’re better off pursuing his twin brother Tyler, who posted much stronger metrics. 

Verdict: Avoid

RHP Scott Barlow

Having spent most of his career with Kansas City and Cleveland, Barlow is quite familiar with the AL Central. He emerged as a top reliever in 2021 and 2022 with the Royals, but struggled before a 2023 trade deadline deal to San Diego. Barlow joined the Guardians in 2024 looking to revamp his career, and he made strides in the right direction, but didn’t quite get back to his peak performance. He joined Cincinnati for 2025 and it was more of the same. The underlying numbers on Barlow tell a very interesting story. Barlow’s average exit velocity of 86.2 mph was among the top 5% of pitchers in baseball, and his 30.5% hard-hit percentage was also among the best. Hitters whiffed 30.8% of the time against Barlow, another very strong metric. It seems his biggest problem in 2025 was walking nearly 15% of the hitters he faced. When he threw strikes, he was very tough to hit, but he hasn’t thrown enough strikes the past few years. Perhaps there’s a mechanical adjustment that can be made to get him controlling his stuff more consistently. Regardless, it might be worth a flier on a guy with a track record of being an elite bullpen arm. At 33, he should have a few good years left in the tank.

Verdict: Target