White Sox November roster moves so far

The Moncada bobblehead is a candidate for the dustbin of history.

Let's catch up on some of the roster moves the White Sox have made since the season ended:

Declined the $25 million contract option on Yoan Moncada. The oft-injured third baseman played in only 12 games for the Sox in 2024, during which he totaled zero home runs and zero RBIs. Moncada played eight seasons on the South Side, and only two of them were good (2019 and 2021). He never made an All-Star appearance. He never won a Gold Glove. The Sox never won a playoff series during his tenure. So, no, he didn't live up to the hype that comes with being the No. 1 prospect in baseball. Moncada's departure means there is nobody left on the team from the Chris Sale trade. Call it vindication for those of us who hated that trade from the start.

Declined the $7.5 million contract option on Max Stassi. Did you even know this 33-year-old catcher was even on the team this season? No? Me neither. Stassi missed the whole season with a hip injury. He had surgery in June. Chances are he's played his last game in the majors.

Relievers Jimmy Lambert and Matt Foster decline outright assignments, elect free agency. More ties were cut with the walking wounded here. Lambert, 29, didn't pitch in 2024 with a rotator cuff injury. He had season-ending surgery in August. Foster, 29, started the year on the injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2023. He returned in August and made six appearances, but a back injury shut him down. He underwent back surgery Sept. 25. These are two more guys you might not see in the majors again.

Claimed pitcher Penn Murfee off waivers from Houston. It's the first dumpster dive of the offseason! Murfee, 30, had Tommy John surgery in July 2023 and missed the entire 2024 season. He pitched in a combined 80 games over two years with the Seattle Mariners -- 64 appearances in 2022 and 16 games before the elbow injury in 2023. He's 5-2 with a 2.70 ERA in his career, so if he can regain his health, well, I guess he becomes a leverage option on what figures to be a subpar 2025 Sox team.

Nicky Lopez and Sammy Peralta decline outright assignments, elect free agency. Lopez, who will turn 30 before the start of the 2025 season, was a Gold Glove finalist at second base. However, he ultimately doesn't have the bat to hold down a starting position, as evidenced by his .241/.312/.294 slash line with the 2024 Sox. If you can't *slug* .300, then you shouldn't be an everyday player. Given that Lopez would be due more than $5 million in arbitration, it doesn't make sense to retain him as a bench option, either. You can find utility players for a lot less money. Heck, if Lopez can't find work elsewhere, he might come back to the Sox for far less money. Peralta, 26, posted a 4.80 ERA over nine relief appearances in 2024. He is a forgettable left-handed reliever. The Sox have other internal options who were ahead of him.

How does White Sox bullpen shape up heading into spring training?

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn famously said at the start of the offseason that the trade market would be "more fruitful" for the team than free agency this winter.

To this point, that statement is false. The Sox have not made any impact acquisitions via trade this offseason, but they did swing a minor deal over the weekend. The South Siders picked up right-handed reliever Franklin German from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for relief pitching prospect Theo Denlinger.

German, 25, was Boston's Minor League Pitcher of the Year last season. He made a combined 43 relief appearances between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, going 5-2 with a 2.72 ERA, seven saves and 64 strikeouts in 49.2 innings. 

He was rewarded with a late-season audition in Boston, which did not go so well. He allowed eight earned runs in four innings over five appearances. German was designated for assignment in late January. The White Sox likely put a waiver claim in on him, and that led to this trade.

Scouting reports say German is a fastball-slider pitcher, with his heater topping out around 97 mph. This is a depth acquisition. It wouldn't be a surprise if German spends most of the season at Triple-A Charlotte, while getting a recall at some point when the big league club needs an extra arm.

So, how does the Sox bullpen look going into spring training? We know Liam Hendriks will be missing. He's out indefinitely while he undergoes treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. We should also expect Garrett Crochet to miss the start of the season as he continues his recovery from elbow surgery.

There are eight spots available in the bullpen. Assuming good health (a big assumption with this group), here's how things look right now:

Roster locks (5)

• RHP Kendall Graveman
• RHP Joe Kelly
• LHP Aaron Bummer
• RHP Reynaldo Lopez
• LHP Jake Diekman

Likely to make the roster (2)

• RHP Jose Ruiz
• RHP Jimmy Lambert

Others in competition (7)

• RHP Nick Avila
• RHP A.J. Alexy
• LHP Tanner Banks
• RHP Matt Foster
• RHP Franklin German
• RHP Gregory Santos
• LHP Bennett Sousa

Non-roster invitees to watch (3)

• RHP Keynan Middleton
• RHP Jesse Scholtens
• LHP Nate Fisher

A few notes to bring up here: Ruiz is out of options, so he'll probably stick with the club unless he has a disastrous spring. Lambert had a strong season last year after converting from starting pitcher to reliever, but his historical inconsistency makes me reluctant to make him a "roster lock." That said, a decent spring should be good enough for him to break with the team.

If those top seven guys are all healthy and functioning, that leaves only one spot open. Avila figures to be the odds-on favorite, as he is a Rule 5 draftee. If he doesn't stick on the Opening Day roster, the Sox have to offer him back to the San Francisco Giants. The guess here is he'll be given every opportunity to stick.

Banks is the likely choice if the Sox decide they'd like a third lefty in the bullpen. Alexy is most likely going to be stretched out as starting pitching depth, but you never know. If he shows well enough, he could be kept on the roster as a swing man. 

We've seen Foster succeed sporadically in the past. He's split his time between Chicago and Triple-A Charlotte over the past two seasons. However, he may have been passed by on the depth chart with the offseason acquisitions of Santos and German.

This is one area of the roster where the Sox seem to have some depth. They will no doubt miss Hendriks and Crochet, who are the most dominant relief arms on the 40-man roster. But they have options to try if whatever their Plan A is doesn't succeed.

Matt Foster unlikely hero for White Sox

The White Sox completed a sweep of the crosstown Cubs on Wednesday with a 4-3 victory at Wrigley Field. And just like we all expected, the hero of the game was ... Matt Foster? 

Yep, that's right, Matt Foster, the 27-year-old reliever who spent most of the 2021 season bouncing back and forth between Chicago and Triple-A Charlotte. And when Foster was in Chicago last season, he posted a 6.00 ERA and a 1.436 WHIP in 37 appearances.

Coming into spring training, he wasn't really in the plans. However, extended rosters and injuries created opportunity, and Foster made the team out of camp. 

And he's pitched really well in his opportunities in 2022. Coming into Wednesday night, he had allowed only one earned run in 11 innings across 10 appearances.

The assignment Foster received Wednesday night was his toughest yet. He was asked to clean up Aaron Bummer's mess in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Cubs had runners at first and third with one out, and the Sox were clinging to a 4-3 lead. Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ, the No. 2 and No. 3 batters in the Cubs' lineup, were due up.

Foster got Suzuki to foul out to first baseman Gavin Sheets on a fastball up and out of the zone. The Cubs' runner on first, Nick Madrigal, was going with the pitch, so perhaps that enticed Suzuki to swing at a pitch that was not a strike. No matter. Either way, it was the second out.

Happ followed, and on a 2-2 pitch, Foster aced him with fastball at the bottom of the zone and struck him out looking. Jam escaped. Lead perserved. Foster's ERA is down to 0.77.

Liam Hendriks worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his seventh save in eight opportunities. That allowed Lucas Giolito (1-1) to pick up his first victory of the season. The right-hander allowed three runs across 5.2 innings, but he struck out 10 Cubs batters.

Jose Abreu (3rd of the season) and Leury Garcia (2nd of the season) homered for the Sox, who overcame an early 3-1 deficit. Sheets had a two-out RBI single in the fourth to tie the game. AJ Pollock had a two-out RBI single in the sixth that put the South Siders ahead for good.

The Sox are now 11-13. The Cubs drop to 9-15.

Stop the presses: White Sox finally win 2 in a row

Tim Anderson

The White Sox have won two games in a row for the first time since April 15-16, as they defeated the crosstown Cubs, 3-1, on a rainy Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.

This was not a good night to be a hitter. The game-time temperature was 45 degrees. The wind was blowing in from left field at 23 mph, and most of the game was played in a persistent rain.

You know that whole urban myth about how the Cubs sell out every game? Yeah, no, not tonight. The announced attendance was 34,206, but I'd be willing to bet they didn't have even half that many people there. And who can blame fans from staying away from this one?

Both the Sox and the Cubs are off to poor starts this season, and you might say these March-like conditions during the first week of May are less than ideal for baseball.

Anyway, the Sox got all the runs they needed in the first three innings. They scored two in the second. Jake Burger's infield single scored Jose Abreu, who had reached on an error earlier in the inning. Reese McGuire's safety squeeze bunt scored Adam Engel, who had doubled.

In the third inning, Tim Anderson connected for his fourth home run of the season to put the Sox ahead 3-0. Anderson drive off Keegan Thompson landed in the right-field seats, which is the direction you needed to hit it to get one out of Wrigley on this night. Anything to left field wasn't going anywhere.

Sox pitching did the rest, with six players combining on a six-hitter. Michael Kopech worked four scoreless, but inefficient, innings. He was removed with a man at first base and no outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. He had thrown 83 pitches at that point.

Reynaldo Lopez (3-0) relieved and got a double play and a strikeout out of the two batters he faced. For that, he earned his third victory of the season.

Jose Ruiz allowed the lone Cubs run in the sixth. But Aaron Bummer, Matt Foster and Liam Hendriks each worked 1-2-3 innings with one strikeout each, as the Cubs surrendered relatively quietly in the late innings.

For Hendriks, it was his sixth save in seven opportunities. The Sox are 10-13. The Cubs are 9-14. The two teams play one more time in this brief two-game set Wednesday night.

White Sox summon Jimmy Lambert as starting pitching crisis deepens

Dallas Keuchel

Lance Lynn is on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation. Lucas Giolito is on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.

Carlos Rodon is not on the injured list -- yet -- but he will be unavailable to the White Sox in their upcoming series against the Oakland Athletics because of "shoulder fatigue and soreness." Rodon was last seen Sept. 1, earning a victory against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates despite reduced velocity and less-than-his-best stuff.

Dallas Keuchel is reportedly 100% healthy, but his ERA is not. He's 1-5 with a 7.44 ERA since the All-Star break, and he got shellacked again Friday night in a 7-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals.

Reynaldo Lopez has done a nice job for the Sox since he was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte, but he showed some cracks Saturday in Kansas City. Despite being handed an early 6-0 lead, he couldn't make it through more than four innings. His velocity was down, and he allowed three runs. The Sox eventually won, 10-7, but it wasn't the best day for Lopez.

Dylan Cease is healthy and functioning, although he took the loss Sunday in Kansas City, 6-0. It wasn't a great game for Cease, as he gave up a 3-run homer in the first inning to Salvador Perez. But, unless he had found a way to give up negative runs, he was destined to lose that game anyway because of a lousy performance by the Sox offense.

It's too bad Michael Kopech doesn't seem capable of filling in. He was great for the Sox as a spot starter early in the season, but he has an 8.68 ERA since the All-Star break. He's having trouble getting through one inning, let alone multiple innings, and he's not the option he was back in May.

Suddenly, the Sox starting rotation, which has been the strength of the team all season, is lacking in options. With the start of the playoffs a month away, it's cracking at just the wrong time.

The series against Oakland on Tuesday night, Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon is going to be tough.

Jimmy Lambert has been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to take the start on Tuesday night. He takes the roster spot of Matt Foster, who was optioned to Charlotte after Sunday's game.

Keuchel will pitch on regular rest Wednesday, but he's pitched a grand total of nine innings in his past three starts -- and given up 16 earned runs in that stretch. Doesn't sound promising.

Lopez will pitch on regular rest Thursday. Here's to hoping his fastball sits at 95-97 mph, instead of the 92-94 we saw Saturday in Kansas City.

Looking a little farther ahead, Cease will be ready on regular rest to face the Boston Red Sox on Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

But Saturday and Sunday against Boston ... welp, we better hope somebody gets healthy by then. The starting pitching crisis is deepening on the South Side of Chicago.

Tim Anderson headed to the IL, other White Sox roster moves

Tim Anderson

Rosters expand from 26 to 28 on Sept. 1, and the White Sox made six roster moves Wednesday ahead of their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates:

1. Shortstop Tim Anderson was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. The move is retroactive to Aug. 29.
2. Pitcher Matt Foster was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.
3. Outfielder Billy Hamilton was activated from the 10-day injured list.
4. Infielder/outfielder Jake Lamb was designated for assignment.
5. Infielder Romy Gonzalez was added to the 40-man roster and called up from Triple-A Charlotte.
6. First baseman Gavin Sheets was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.

Now for a few thoughts on these moves.

First off, the Sox must have a healthy Anderson in October if they have any hope of advancing in the playoffs. This whole business of him being available for a couple of games, then needing a couple of days off has been both annoying and concerning. It's a good decision to sit him down for 10 days and let him get right. 

Adam Engel is still rehabbing a shoulder injury, so it's good to see Hamilton back on the roster. His defensive skills are needed as a backup center fielder. The Sox probably aren't going to play Luis Robert every single day in center field, so Hamilton can handle that position when Robert takes a day off. And Hamilton can do that job better than Brian Goodwin or Leury Garcia can.

Gonzalez has had a terrific season split between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. Between the two levels, he has batted .275/.357/.525 with 23 homers in 335 at-bats. He needed to be added to the 40-man roster by this offseason, or else he would be subject to the Rule 5 draft. Gonzalez has played every position except pitcher and catcher, and with Garcia hitting free agency at the end of the season, this is an opportunity to see if Gonzalez can play the same role as Garcia for less money.

Lamb has hit only .179 with one home run in 12 games in August. Sheets can probably do a better job as the left-handed bat off the bench. I'm just surprised the Sox are OK with Sheets sitting on the bench in Chicago, as opposed to playing every day in Charlotte. There aren't a lot of at-bats available at DH or at first base, although Sheets (much like Lamb) can masquerade as a right fielder for a game here or there.

The one thing Lamb can do that Sheets cannot is play third base. However, with Garcia, Gonzalez and Danny Mendick all on the 28-man roster, there are other options to back up Yoan Moncada. That makes Lamb expendable.

Adam Engel has as many home runs as Yoan Moncada

Adam Engel

White Sox outfielder Adam Engel has played in 13 games in 2021. Hamstring injuries have limited him to only 42 at-bats through the first 89 games of the season. 

Nevertheless, Engel has homered five times in those 42 at-bats. That's the same number of home runs third baseman Yoan Moncada has in 272 at-bats. Doubt anyone expected that.

But Engel's fifth home run came at an opportune time Sunday. It was a 3-run shot in the top of the 10th inning that lifted the Sox to a 7-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

With the victory, the Sox are 7-0 this season against the AL-worst Orioles. They will go into the All-Star break with a five-game winning streak, a 54-35 record and an eight-game lead over the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.

Sunday's game should have been a tidy 4-2 win. Closer Liam Hendriks got two easy outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and appeared poised to secure a victory for Sox starter Dylan Cease. Instead, Hendriks got sloppy. He gave up a single to Ryan McKenna on a first-pitch, get-me-over slider, which is about the only pitch the .185-hitting McKenna can sting. 

Then the Orioles used Trey Mancini, their best player, to pinch hit. Mancini drove a 1-1 fastball, which was middle-middle, over the short porch in right field to tie the game at 4.

Hendriks struck out Pedro Severino easily to force the game to the 10th inning. Frankly, there was nothing wrong with Hendriks' stuff. All three of his outs came by strikeouts -- he just appeared to lose focus after getting the first two batters out so easily.

The Sox were in jeopardy of not scoring in the top of the 10th. Tim Anderson was placed on second as the ghost runner, and Moncada walked to set up a RBI opportunity for Jose Abreu. Alas, Abreu struck out, and Brian Goodwin flew out deep to center, advancing Anderson to third.

Baltimore reliever Tyler Wells (2-1) had a chance to get out of the inning with no damage, but he fell behind 3-1 to Engel, then served up a center-cut fastball that Engel hit out for a 7-4 Sox lead.

Jose Ruiz had problems in the bottom of the 10th. After a single, a sacrifice fly that scored the ghost runner and a walk, Baltimore pulled within 7-5 and had two men on with one out.

Matt Foster relieved and got the last two outs for his first career save. The last out was a 408-foot fly off the bat of DJ Stewart, but hey, it's 410 feet to center field at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Engel caught the ball just in front of the wall to secure the win for the Sox. They don't ask how; they just ask how many.

White Sox make 4 roster moves ahead of series against Baltimore Orioles

The White Sox made four roster moves Thursday afternoon in advance of a four-game weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles:

• Pitcher Michael Kopech was placed on the bereavement list. He must remain on that list for a minimum of three days, but not more than seven days.
• Reliever Ryan Burr's contract was purchased from Triple-A Charlotte.
• Outfielder Luis Robert (strained hip flexor) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
• Reliever Jace Fry (back surgery) was sent on a rehabilitation assignment to Triple-A Charlotte.

Kopech left Wednesday's game with left hamstring soreness, so from that perspective, at least he wasn't placed on the injured list. Given that the Sox have a doubleheader scheduled Monday against Cleveland, Kopech was unlikely to pitch before then -- he typically makes a spot start when the Sox have a doubleheader. We'll see whether he's healthy enough to make that start. 

Burr takes Robert's place on the 40-man roster. He pitched for the Sox in 2018 and 2019. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery in 2019 and missed all of 2020. In 24 career games with the Sox, he's 1-1 with a 5.52 ERA.

If and when Fry is ready to rejoin the Sox, it will be interesting to see who gets sent to the minors. Jose Ruiz has struggled as of late -- he's given up runs in six consecutive outings -- but he's out of options. Matt Foster has also struggled this season, and could be pitching for his roster spot.

It's also possible Garrett Crochet will be sent to Triple-A to get more innings. The rookie left-hander has only appeared in 13 games this season, throwing 12.2 innings. I'm concerned the lack of activity is stunting the 21-year-old's development. If he's not going to pitch more in the majors, send him to Charlotte and let him improve his craft. He will be needed later in the season.

Postponement comes at good time for White Sox; road trip ends with 3-2 record

The game between the White Sox and the Cleveland Indians was postponed Wednesday night because of snow. 

The inclement weather showed up at just the right time for the Sox, who would have been underdogs in this Wednesday matchup. The Indians were planning to start Aaron Civale, who is 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA. The Cleveland right-hander just shut down the Sox in his last outing a week ago.

The Sox, meanwhile, were short on pitching and planned to have a bullpen day. The South Siders had a successful road trip overall. They split four games in Boston and won Tuesday's game in Cleveland, and thus they will conclude the trip with a 3-2 record.

But Sunday's doubleheader sweep in Boston, Lucas Giolito's short start Monday, and Lance Lynn's trip to the 10-day injured list left the Sox without a starting pitcher available to work on regular rest for Wednesday.

Manager Tony La Russa said after Tuesday's game that the Sox would likely recall Jonathan Stiever from the alternate site to help them get through Wednesday's game. Other candidates to pitch included journeyman Alex McRae, who is currently in the roster spot vacated by Lynn, and Matt Foster.

Not the best setup for a game against a division rival. But thanks to the snow, the Sox avoid playing a game that they were likely to lose, and they never added Stiever, so the roster remains the same as it was Tuesday.

Now, they get a day off Thursday, and that pretty much allows the pitching staff to reset. The Sox host the Texas Rangers in a three-game series starting Friday, and every pitcher on the roster should be available -- except for Carlos Rodon, who started and won Tuesday's ballgame.

When the Sox get back on the field Friday, there will be two story lines. First, former Sox right-hander Dane Dunning, who was traded for Lynn, is the scheduled starter for Texas. Second, the Sox will attempt to get over the .500 mark for the first time in eight tries.

So far this season, the Sox have been 0-0, 1-1, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 8-8 and now 9-9. Each time they've reached breakeven, they've lost their next game.

On one hand, the Sox haven't been able to get anything going with any consistency so far this season. But on the other hand, they've managed to tread water while they've struggled.

As frustrating as the team has been to watch, it's not as if they are 6-12 or something. They haven't dug a hole that will take them two weeks of good play to recover from or anything like that.

The next nine games are at home. If they can put together a halfway decent homestand against Texas, Detroit and Cleveland, they can push to the top of the AL Central.

Remember when we thought the White Sox bullpen was a strength?

Liam Hendriks

So, the White Sox are 4-5 after nine games. Not good, not terrible, just kind of middling.

And if I'm being honest, mediocrity was my expectation for the season. I had this team going 86-76 -- before the Eloy Jimenez injury -- so now I'm thinking 83-79.

But the shape of this 4-5 start has been interesting. The Sox haven't lost in a normal way yet. It's been a bunch of bullpen meltdowns, and that's the surprising part. You would have thought the bullpen would be a strength, with the investment in Liam Hendriks, the return of a healthy Aaron Bummer, plus Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet.

First off, let's absolve Kopech of any blame. He's been awesome. In Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals, he retired all seven batters he faced. So far this season, Kopech has worked 6.1 innings in three appearances. He hasn't given up a run. In fact, he's only given up one hit. Just terrific.

Too bad everyone else sucks, including Hendriks, who gave up a game-tying home run to Carlos Santana in the ninth Sunday. The Royals scored the winning run in the 10th on a throwing error by Crochet. Not terrific.

All five of those losses have been credited to relievers. We've seen one blown lead in the ninth (Hendriks), two blown leads in the eighth (Bummer, Evan Marshall), a seven-run meltdown in a sixth inning that turned a 4-1 lead into an 8-4 loss (Matt Foster), and a game that was tied in the ninth turn into a three-run loss (Foster).

In each of the Sox's four victories, they took at least a six-run lead into the ninth inning. You can't expect to blow teams out every day. Sooner or later, you have to lock up one- and two-run leads and win these close games.

Those games are the difference between 90 wins and 80 wins, or, say, 86 wins and 76 wins, as the case may be with this group.

White Sox, Evan Marshall agree on one-year contract, avoiding arbitration

Evan Marshall

Holiday weekend roster news: Right-handed relief pitcher Evan Marshall and the White Sox agreed on a one-year, $2 million contract, avoiding arbitration.

Marshall has worked out of the Sox's bullpen the past two seasons, and they've pretty much been the two best years of his career. Combining his 2019 and 2020 numbers, Marshall has gone 6-3 with a 2.45 ERA in 78 appearances.

The 30-year-old struck out a career-best 11.9 batters per nine innings in 2020 and limited opponents to a .198 batting average. Thanks to Marshall's outstanding changeup, left-handed batters managed only five hits in 42 at-bats against him last season.

The Sox have now signed three of their five arbitration-eligible players: Marshall, Adam Engel and Jace Fry. The remaining two are starting pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez.

The bullpen is one area of the Sox's roster that figures to be stable going into the 2021 season. Here's the projected relief corps right now:

Right-handers: Marshall, Codi Heuer, Jimmy Cordero, Matt Foster

Left-handers: Fry, Aaron Bummer, Garrett Crochet

That's seven guys out of a projected eight-man bullpen. Alex Colome remains a free agent. You figure the Sox will add one more veteran relief arm this offseason, whether it's bringing back Colome or signing someone else.

The biggest free agent linked to the White Sox is ... Liam Hendriks?

Liam Hendriks

The White Sox are 92-1 when leading after eight innings over the past two seasons. That is good evidence that the bullpen is NOT the greatest area of need on the South Side of Chicago.

Yet, the biggest free agent who has been linked to the Sox is a closer, Liam Hendriks.

Granted, the Sox's incumbent closer, Alex Colome, also is a free agent. As of this writing, it remains unclear who will be tasked with closing games for the Sox in 2021.

We'll also acknowledge that Hendriks is a more dominant relief pitcher than Colome. Based on recent track records, it would be foolish to argue that Hendriks would not help the Sox. Let's take a look at the numbers from these two pitchers over the past two years:

Colome in 2019: 4-5, 2.80 ERA, 30 saves, 61 IP, 55 Ks, 23 BBs, 1.066 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9

Hendriks in 2019: 4-4, 1.80 ERA, 25 saves, 85 IP, 124 Ks, 21 BBs, 0.965 WHIP, 13.1 K/9, 2.2 BB/9

Colome in 2020: 2-0, 0.81 ERA, 12 saves, 22.1 IP, 16 Ks, 8 BBs, 0.940 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9

Hendriks in 2020: 3-1, 1.78 ERA, 14 saves, 25.1 IP, 37 Ks, 3 BBs, 0.671 WHIP, 13.1 K/9, 1.1 BB/9

There's no getting around it. Hendriks was the best reliever in the American League in 2020. And he's better than Colome. He strikes out more batters. He walks fewer batters. In general, fewer batters reach base against him. That's exactly what you want in a closer.

Here's the problem: To sign Hendriks, it's probably going to take a four-year deal, worth somewhere between $50 million and $60 million. That sort of outlay would probably be the biggest the Sox would make in this most unusual of offseasons.

The question isn't whether Hendriks is good. The question is whether he's the best use of (apparently) scarce resources.

Closer has not been a problem for the Sox. If need be, they could probably retain Colome on a two-year commitment for a lot less -- maybe two years, $20 million. And even if Colome leaves, you still have two left-handers (Aaron Bummer and Garrett Crochet) and three right-handers (Codi Heuer, Evan Marshall and Matt Foster) who can be used in high-leverage situations.

Meanwhile, the Sox had a right fielder last season (Nomar Mazara) who posted an OPS+ of 64. League-average is 100, so that means Mazara was 36% below league average.

They also had a DH (Edwin Encarnacion) who posted an OPS+ of 70, or 30% below league average.

These are glaring, massive holes that are begging to be solved through free agency. Colome is not as good as Hendriks, but he's also not below league average. The closer spot simply is not a liability, while right field and DH are.

The Sox have already strangely plugged right field with Adam Eaton, who had a 76 OPS+ last season -- he should fit right in, LOL.

To the Sox's credit, they plugged a hole in the starting rotation by trading for Lance Lynn, who is both good and reasonably priced. Lynn will earn $8 million in 2021.

That means there still should be room with the payroll to make a significant addition on a multi-year deal. Should that money be spent on an upgrade at closer? Not in my world. A better use of money would be adding an impact bat who can help you each and every day. 

You don't need a $15 million closer to win a World Series.

White Sox tumble to No. 7 seed, will play Oakland in first round

Luis Robert

2-6. 

That's all the White Sox needed to do in their last eight games in order to secure an American League Central Division championship.

Of course, they went 1-7. 

The Minnesota Twins are the division champions with a record of 36-24. They have the No. 3 seed in the AL playoffs and will get a favorable matchup against the sixth-seeded Houston Astros (29-31).

That spot could have belonged to the Sox, but they lost to the Cubs, 10-8, on Sunday and finished tied with the Cleveland Indians for second place. Both Chicago and Cleveland are 35-25, one game behind the Twins in the division.

The Indians hold the tiebreaker over the Sox by virtue of their 8-2 record in head-to-head matchups, so they get the 4 seed as the top second-place team and will host the No. 5 seed New York Yankees.

Come to think of it, I don't envy the Indians, because New York is probably better than its 33-27 record indicates.

That leaves the No. 7 seed for the Sox, and they will go on the road to face the No. 2 seed Oakland Athletics. The best-of-three series starts Tuesday night. The A's (36-24) are the only winning team in the AL West, and they coasted to the division title by seven games over Houston.

It was a real ugly finish for the Sox. After getting swept in Cleveland, they lost 10-0 to the Cubs on Friday. The Sox won, 9-5, on Saturday, but they fell behind 10-1 on Sunday before a furious rally in the last two innings to make the game look more competitive than it actually was.

However, what's done is done, and the Sox have to look ahead to Oakland. A few positives:

• Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel were both effective in their last starts of the season, and after taking the weekend against the Cubs off, they should be rested and ready for Games 1 and 2.
• Aaron Bummer and Evan Marshall are healthy, fortifying the Sox's bullpen.
• Rookie Garrett Crochet is unscored upon through the first six innings of his pro career. He tossed two scoreless innings in the win Saturday.
• With Bummer, Marshall, Crochet, Matt Foster, Codi Heuer and Alex Colome all healthy and ready, the Sox have SIX relievers they can use in high-leverage spots. This weekend, the Cubs scored ZERO runs against those six men. That's saying something, given that the Cubs scored 25 runs in the series.
• The Cubs did the Sox a favor by blowing up Reynaldo Lopez on Sunday. The right-hander allowed six runs in 1.1. innings, showing that he is not qualified to make a playoff start for the Sox. It's better that we all discover that now than, say, next Thursday in a winner-take-all Game 3 against the A's.
• Luis Robert went 5 for 11 against the Cubs, showing signs that he's breaking out of an extended slump.
• Yoan Moncada, too. He was 3 for 8 with homer and two walks in his past two games.
• Even after being held hitless Sunday, Jose Abreu is still as good as he's ever been. His bases-loaded double put the Sox ahead to stay Saturday night. He totaled 60 RBIs in a 60-game season. He had 19 homers, a .317 average and a .987 OPS.

That's what we got. I think the Sox have two good starting pitchers and six good relief pitchers. As long as that group of eight does most of the pitching, the Sox should at least have a puncher's chance of upsetting the A's.

White Sox lose two of three to Cincinnati Reds; AL Central lead at 2 with 7 to play

Dylan Cease

White Sox pitchers Dylan Cease and Ross Detwiler combined to pitch one of the worst innings I've seen at the big-league level in a long, long time Sunday.

The Cincinnati Reds scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning -- on six walks, a hit batsmen and a ground ball that found its way through a shifted infield. Talk about gift-wrapping a game. The Reds went on to win 7-3 and took two out of three in the weekend series.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins took two out of three from the Cubs at Wrigley Field. That means the Sox's lead in the American League Central Division stands at two games with seven to play. Their magic number to clinch the division is four.

Probably the best thing to do would be to just go 4-3 in the remaining seven and not worry about the Twins, right? But the Sox will need to play better than they did this weekend. Let's take a look back at this series with the Reds:

Friday, Sept. 18

Reds 7, White Sox 1: Jonathan Stiever survived his first major-league start against the Detroit Tigers in decent shape, but he got lit up in his outing Friday against the Reds. He lasted only 2.2 innings and gave up six earned runs on five hits. He allowed four home runs, including three in a five-run third inning. 

Stiever had never pitched above High-A before this year, so struggles are to be expected. However, I'm a little concerned about his health. Reports last season had his fastball touching 95 or 96 mph. But after a forearm strain limited him in spring training during March, he doesn't seem to be back to that peak velocity. I'm seeing a lot of 91 and 92 mph fastballs.

The Sox managed only four hits Friday night, so it was a lackluster, day-after-clinching-the-playoffs sort of effort. One bright spot: 2020 first-round draft pick Garrett Crochet worked a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts in his big-league debut. His fastball touched 101 mph and showed good life. 

Saturday, Sept. 19

White Sox 5, Reds 0: Stiever was optioned back to the alternate training site after his rough outing Friday, so that Dallas Keuchel could be activated from the 10-day injured list and make the start. 

It was a weird outing for Keuchel. He went four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, which is good, but he didn't get a single groundball out. Not what you normally see from the game's most extreme sinkerballer. Keuchel uncharacteristically walked three, too, but that could be chalked up to rust. At least he got up to 75 pitches. At least he got through the outing without a recurrence of his back problem, and he'll get one more start Thursday to tune up for the postseason.

The Sox hit five solo homers to win this one. Nomar Mazara hit his first dinger of the season in the fifth off Trevor Bauer. Tim Anderson also homered in the fifth. In the eighth, Anderson, Yasmani Grandal and Jose Abreu hit back-to-back-to-back homers off Robert Stephenson to put the game out of reach.

Four relievers cleaned up the last five innings after Keuchel left. Matt Foster (5-0) retired all six men he faced with two strikeouts to earn the victory.

Sunday, Sept. 20

Reds 7, White Sox 3: Cease, Detwiler and Steve Cishek combined to walk 11 batters and hit three others in this game -- and that was just the first five innings. Meanwhile, Sox batters struck out 14 times. It was so terrible to watch that I don't really want to talk about it.

It was 7-3, but it felt like 13-3. Let's just flush it down the toilet and move on.

Up next for the Sox: a four-game series in Cleveland starting Monday night. The Indians are five games out in the AL Central, so they are still in the hunt and looking to move up the standings. It should be a playoff-level series, and the hope is the Sox got all their bad play out of their system Sunday in Cincinnati.

White Sox manager Rick Renteria is burning up his bullpen unnecessarily

Rick Renteria

The White Sox entered Tuesday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 99.6% chance of qualifying for the postseason.

So why is manager Rick Renteria treating every game as if it is the seventh game of the World Series?

The Sox lost, 5-4, to the last-place Pirates, but the way they got there was more concerning than the loss itself. Was it really necessary to burn through five relief pitchers to try to win this game? Not in my world.

Starter Dylan Cease got a quick hook after throwing only 79 pitches. He took a 3-2 lead into the sixth inning, and he gave up a leadoff single. That would be all. Not sure why.

Codi Heuer, pitching for the third time in the past five days, was able to finish the inning without giving up the lead.

Enter Matt Foster, who worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning. Foster was pitching for "only" the third time in the past six days, so I thought he might have another inning in him.

Nah.

Renteria needed to go to Evan Marshall, who was pitching for the fourth time in the past five games, for the eighth inning. Marshall gave up two runs to surrender a 4-2 lead and couldn't finish the inning. Ross Detwiler entered and managed to strand the go-ahead run on third base.

But Detwiler gave up two singles to start the bottom of the ninth. Enter Jimmy Cordero, who has appeared NINE TIMES in the past 12 games. A passed ball, an intentional walk and an error later, the Sox were in the loss column.

Good thing Renteria pulled Cease early to make sure the Sox won this one, huh?

The Sox have played 42 games, and Cordero has already made 21 appearances. Marshall has pitched 20 times, and Steve Cishek has pitched 18 times. All three of these men have more appearances than they do innings pitched.

And that doesn't even get into the 40-pitch outing Alex Colome had in Friday's win over Kansas City. Colome was then asked to save the game Saturday night, too, which he did, but at some point he might wear out as well.

Would it kill Renteria to let guys pitch more than one inning? Would it kill him to let a young pitcher like Cease work his way out of his own trouble for once?

The Sox are in really good shape to make the playoffs. But will the bullpen have anything left for October with this kind of usage, or overusage, as the case may be?

Forget about October. Who is going to pitch in relief Wednesday? Probably at least one or two guys who pitched Tuesday night, and that's a problem.

It's time for Renteria to back off the throttle a little bit. He's got to stop micromanaging so much, even if it means losing a few more games.

White Sox make first roster moves of spring training

The White Sox on Friday made their first round of roster cuts. Most notably, No. 5-ranked prospect Jonathan Stiever was reassigned to minor league camp without getting an opportunity to pitch in a Cactus League game.

Stiever, 22, was bothered by soreness during a sideline session, and he was diagnosed with a muscle strain in his right forearm. An MRI showed no problems, and Stiever was shut down for three weeks. He currently is about halfway through that three-week period.

When I made my list of top 10 White Sox prospects, I was a little reluctant to put Stiever up real high on the basis of 10 or 12 good minor league starts at the end of last season. Last year's breakout story can quickly become this year's downer, and we know young pitchers often get their careers derailed by injury.

Here's to hoping this is just a minor blip for Stiever.

The Sox also optioned right-handed reliever Matt Foster to Triple-A Charlotte. Pitchers Dane Dunning and Jimmy Lambert were optioned to Double-A Birmingham. Both Dunning and Lambert are rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Right-hander Ryan Burr, left-hander Hunter Schryver and first baseman Matt Skole also were reassigned to minor league camp.

Burr spent time in the majors last season, but he also is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Schryver recently underwent Tommy John surgery and is done for this season. Skole, a left-handed hitter who has spent some time in the majors in each of the past two years, is an organizational player who will no doubt begin the season in Triple-A Charlotte.

The Sox now have 60 players in camp.

White Sox sign relief pitcher Steve Cishek to one-year deal

Steve Cishek

The White Sox on Tuesday moved to increase their bullpen depth by signing veteran relief pitcher Steve Cishek to a one-year, $6 million contract.

Cishek, 33, will earn $5.25 million in 2020. The deal includes an option for 2021 worth $6.75 million, with a $750,000 buyout -- thus the $6 million guaranteed.

The right-hander spent the past two seasons with the Cubs. He appeared in 70 games in 2019, going 4-6 with a 2.95 ERA and seven saves. He struck out 57 and walked 29 with a 1.203 WHIP over 64 innings pitched.

Let's discuss the pluses and minuses of this signing in 3-up, 3-down format.

3 up

1. An ERA below 3.00 for four consecutive seasons. That 2.95 ERA in 2019 represents the *worst* season Cishek has had in recent memory. Over the past four years, his ERAs have been 2.81, 2.01, 2.18 and 2.95, respectively. Even if he regresses, he has a higher floor that some of the other candidates for the Sox bullpen, such as Carson Fulmer and Jose Ruiz.

2. Experience. Cishek is a veteran of 10 MLB seasons, and he's appeared in 572 games. His career ERA is 2.69, and while he likely won't be asked to close for the Sox, he has 132 saves lifetime. This is somebody who has been in his share of high-leverage situations. There's no reason he can't be placed in a seventh- or eighth-inning role.

3. Rubber arm. Cishek appeared in 150 games over the past two seasons, including a ridiculous 80 appearances in 2018. He's pitched in 60 or more games six times during his career. That reliability has to be respected.

3 down

1. A declining strikeout rate. Cishek struck out 10.0 batters per nine innings with the Cubs in 2018, but that declined to 8.0 batters per nine innings last season. His career mark is 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings, so he performed below his norms in 2019. There may be a little less swing-and-miss in his game going forward.

2. Overuse. I don't care who you are, 150 appearances is a ton over two years. In a way, it's a testament to Cishek that his former manager, Joe Maddon, trusted him that often. But sooner or later, that kind of usage has to take its toll. Perhaps that concern is among the reasons Cishek is only getting one year guaranteed on the open market.

3. An increasing home run rate. Cishek gave up 1.0 home runs per nine innings in 2019, which was the second-highest rate of his career. His career mark is 0.6 home runs per nine innings, which is the exact figure he was at during the 2018 season. Of course, to be fair, the ball was juiced last summer, so a lot of pitchers around the league saw an increase in their home run rate.

With the addition of Cishek, I think we can take a good guess at seven of the eight spots in the Sox bullpen. Here's how it most likely looks today:

Left-handers: Aaron Bummer, Jace Fry
Right-handers: Alex Colome, Kelvin Herrera, Cishek, Evan Marshall, Jimmy Cordero, ??????

Here are some candidates to fill in those question marks: Fulmer, Ruiz, Dylan Covey, Zack Burdi, Matt Foster and Ian Hamilton.

White Sox part ways with Omar Vizquel, add 7 to 40-man roster

Omar Vizquel

The White Sox on Wednesday announced that Omar Vizquel will not be returning as a manager in their minor league system for the 2020 season.

Vizquel enjoyed his best success as a manager during the 2018 season, when he led High-A Winston-Salem to an 84-54 record and a first-half division championship. He was named Carolina League Manager of the Year.

In 2019, Vizquel was promoted to manage Double-A Birmingham, but he was unable to duplicate that same success. The Barons finished 64-72.

"We felt that it was best for both sides to make a change," Chris Getz, White Sox director of player development, told MLB.com. "Listen, Omar, ultra-talented player, very good instructor, created a good environment for our players. We just felt with where things are at, our player development system, that it was time to go separate ways. But not only for himself, but for the organization as well and we wish Omar well. He was a positive influence while he was here."

The Sox fan reaction to this news has been overwhelmingly negative, and frankly, I'm a little surprised. Vizquel's team had a subpar year, and several outfield prospects of note -- Blake Rutherford, Luis Gonzalez, Luis Alexander Basabe and Micker Adolfo -- stalled this season. To be fair, Adolfo got hurt again, and what's a manager to do? But expectations were higher for this Birmingham group in 2019.

In general, I think the fan discontent stems from the long-held belief that Vizquel would eventually replace Rick Renteria as the manager in Chicago. I've never quite understood why that was the assumption, nor have I understood why it is just assumed that Vizquel would do a better job than Renteria has.

Clearly, Vizquel had a better playing career than Renteria, but that doesn't amount to a hill of beans when evaluating someone as a manager.

I'm left to conclude that some fans simply want Renteria gone. They believe anyone would be better, and they're just pissed off that Vizquel is no longer an option.

Sox add 7 players to 40-man roster

Rutherford, catcher Yermin Mercedes and pitchers Dane Dunning, Jimmy Lambert, Zack Burdi, Matt Foster and Bernardo Flores had their contracts purchased by the Sox on Wednesday. The seven players were added to the 40-man roster, bringing the roster to the maximum 40.

As a result, these men are not available to other clubs in the Rule 5 draft. Notable players who were not protected included pitchers Alec Hansen, Zach Thompson and Spencer Adams.

Mercedes was the big question mark. He batted .317/.388/.581 with 23 home runs and 80 RBIs in stops at Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. He can hit, but he's poor defensively, and that seemed to be preventing him from getting a call to the majors.

If he had been exposed in the Rule 5 draft, it seems likely that a rebuilding team would have snagged him and given him a chance as a designated hitter. Now, he'll stay in the Sox organization, but the club has a logjam at catcher.

Even with Welington Castillo gone, there are four catchers on the 40-man -- James McCann, Zack Collins, Seby Zavala and Mercedes. It wouldn't be surprising to see a trade of one of these players who is not named McCann -- who is the presumed starter in 2020.

For me, Dunning, Lambert and Burdi are the no-brainers here. All three pitchers are coming off injuries, yes, but that would be all the more reason for a rival club to snag them in the Rule 5 draft and hide them on the injured list for half a season.

Dunning is the No. 5 prospect in the organization. Lambert ranks 18th and was thought to have a chance to make the majors in 2019 before he got hurt. Burdi is a former first-round draft pick.

Too much has been invested in these three players to risk losing them for nothing.