The Chicago White Sox are not spending much money on free agents this offseason despite coming off a record-setting 121-loss season in 2024.
One reason for the Sox breaking the 1962 New York Mets long-time record in futility was the bullpen blew 37 saves. The pitching staff as a whole blew 56 leads.
You would think some free-agent dollars should be invested to upgrade such a weak area on the roster.
However, GM Chris Getz is wise to not invest so much in the bullpen despite it being a major issue for the White Sox last season.
That is because bullpen arms can have wild career swings.
Take Steven Wilson for example who was just designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Brandon Eisert who the club claimed off of waivers.
Wilson was one of the players the Sox got back in the Dylan Cease trade last year before spring training. He was a reliable reliever for the San Diego Padres. He came over to the Southside and posted a career-worst 5.71 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP.
He also battled injuries and finished the season on the injured list. It was a bit of a surprise that he was tendered a contract.
The Sox picked up left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert off of waivers to take Wilson's place on the 40-man roster. Maybe the hope Eisert's career is on the upswing while Wilson's stock is at its lowest.
Eisert made his big-league debut last season with the Toronto Blue Jays where he pitched in just three games. Eisert is not a hard thrower with his fastball topping out at 91mph, but he can mix in a slider and a changeup.
What gives him value over Wilson on the Sox roster is Eisert still has minor-league options left. Wilson was on his last year of club control and the hope was he could get back to his 2022-2023 numbers so he could be flipped at the trade deadline.
Now it turns out the Sox front office does not even want to attempt to see if that happens.
Still using minor trades, waiver claims, and signing guys off the free-agent scrap heap is the best way to find bullpen upgrades.
One reason the White Sox are in their current pathetic state is the previous front office leadership group spent too much of the limited financial resources ownership gave them on bullpen arms such as Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman.
That left no money to address long-term problems in the batting order such as second base or rightfield. Heck, it left no money to add any impact players.
They also sunk prospect capital in trades for Craig Kimbrel and Jake Diekman. Those trades turned out terribly for the sox.
Since ownership only authorizes so much money (when it is authorized), it is better to use the money to make sure the rotation or the lineup has the necessary resources to win (whenever that happens again).
Trading for Cam Booser or Taylor Gilbert who are making next to nothing with the chance to have productive seasons is a better usage of building the bullpen rather than blindly spending and getting potentially terrible results.
Plus, the White Sox have a ton of pitching depth in their farm system where some of those promising arms will have to shift to the pen because there is only five rotation spots.
Finally, if some of these minor moves like adding James Karinchak on a non-roster invite deal work out, they can be flipped at the trade deadline for decent prospects. Remember, last year's trade deadline was very kind to the bullpen market.