White Sox fans won't feel so alone after seeing insane Tigers bullpen stats

The White Sox bullpen has been a heavy topic of conversation among fans over the past few weeks. The unit leads Major League Baseball in innings, and the team hasn’t been quiet about how tired they are, especially in the midst of a 16-game in 16-day stretch. The fatigue reared its ugly head this week against the Cubs, where the White Sox blew back-to-back late leads thanks to top high leverage arms not being available and general struggles. It’s a frustrating outcome for sure, but a glance at the division-rival Tigers will make White Sox fans feel better about their own situation. 

The Tigers took a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday with closer Kenley Jansen entering the game. With one out in the ninth, rookie Rafael Flores homered against Jansen to tie the game, and infielder Brandon Lowe hit his own blast two batters later to win it for Pittsburgh. The Tigers are no stranger to this kind of crushing defeat either. 

Wednesday was the 17th time this season the Tigers have lost a game after leading in the seventh inning or later. The blown save by Jansen was the 28th of the year for Detroit. Only the Nationals have more in all of baseball. Being unable to hold late leads is a huge reason why a team with the best run differential in the central and the third-best in the American League currently sits 5.5 games out of first place and outside the playoff picture. 

It’s not that the Tigers bullpen is always bad. In fact, their 3.78 bullpen ERA is tied with the White Sox for 8th-best in baseball. They simply haven’t been getting the job done when it matters most. 

Tigers bullpen struggles give White Sox a clear path to avoid

The Tigers' struggles this season should serve as a warning to the White Sox about how important the bullpen is. Even after trading Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize, the Tigers have a strong starting pitching staff, and their offense has talent up and down the lineup. But none of it matters if no lead is safe. The White Sox have a handful of very strong bullpen options in Grant Taylor, Sean Newcomb, Jordan Hicks, and Bryan Hudson. Huascar Brazoban was supposed to be in that group, but he’s struggled early in his White Sox career. Rookie Hagen Smith certainly has the stuff to be a late-inning reliever if he can consistently throw strikes. 

With the White Sox in the power position in the central and several strong late-inning relief options, they can’t afford to give someone struggling time to figure it out. They can’t end up in the same position the Tigers are in, with many losses that should’ve been wins, and still expect to make the postseason. Will Venable needs to have a quick trigger with his reliever’s roles and effectively ride the hot hand. 

Aside from injuries, a struggling bullpen is the quickest way to derail an otherwise strong season, so the White Sox need to be careful over the final month of the season. Hopefully, the reliable arms can hold up and the struggling arms can step up, giving the White Sox a true strength in their relief corp that will take them a long way.

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