White Sox betting on bolstered bullpen to prevent more close-game heartache
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Three more wins would’ve made last season a little more palatable for the White Sox, and a few more big arms in the bullpen might’ve made the difference.
Now manager Will Venable has four such flame-throwing options in his relief arsenal as the organization looks to turn a corner in the rebuild and avoid a fourth consecutive triple-digit-loss season.
The Sox’ 60-102 record last year included an MLB-most 36 losses by one-run deficits, and a sizable share of those could be pinned on a bullpen with a collective 1.38 WHIP. Opposing hitters touched up Sox relievers for 79 home runs and a .245 batting average — all figures in the bottom third of the league.
“We lost so many one-run games over the last two years, and it’s been a point of frustration,” assistant general manager Josh Barfield said. “There’s a number of different things you can attribute that to. One way we thought we could really help address that, and hopefully flip that, is having a stronger bullpen, adding guys with more power. We’ve got four guys at the back of our bullpen who can all touch 100 on a given day.”
At the top of the list is free-agent addition Seranthony Domínguez, a World Series contender with Toronto last year who’s poised to serve as the Sox’ first bona fide closer since Liam Hendriks. The Sox notched an MLB-low 25 saves last year, not that there were many opportunities (49, also a league-worst).
“Just focus a little bit more and get people out, and don't think about,” Domínguez said of his late-inning mentality, while getting acquainted with his new teammates at Camelback Ranch. “Just don't think a lot and do your thing.”
General manager Chris Getz was thinking a lot about the velocity that powered Domínguez to 79 strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA over 67 appearances last year, which saw the right-hander traded from Baltimore to the Blue Jays. Batters hit .132 against Domínguez in 12 postseason appearances.
"He's our closer," Venable said.
Getz picked him up on a two-year, $20 million deal with money saved from shedding Luis Robert Jr.’s salary in a trade with the Mets, which also opened up space to take on Jordan Hicks’ contract in a trade with Boston.
The deal wasn’t a complete salary dump for the Red Sox. Along with pitching prospect David Sandlin, Hicks’ arrival to the Sox’ bullpen brings a four-seamer that topped 104 mph when he burst onto the scene in 2018.
The 29-year-old right-hander is looking to bounce back from a rocky ‘25 that saw his ERA balloon to 6.95 after struggles as a starter in San Francisco followed him to Boston’s pen.
Getz & Co. will also look for second-year flame-thrower Grant Taylor to take the next step in his development after a tantalizing debut season. He struck out 54 hitters in 36⅔ innings last year after getting called up from Double-A Birmingham in June.
Taylor, a college teammate and friend of Pirates’ ace Paul Skenes, had pushed for a shot at starting this year, but the front office values the shut-down potential late in games.
“It was just sharpening what makes me successful at the big-league level: heaters, and getting the slider back in,” the 23-year-old said of his offseason.
Rounding out the Sox’ high-powered, high-leverage options is Jordan Leasure, the third-year right-hander who struck out 81 batters in 68 appearances last season.
Venable said “it’s nice to have some fuel in the bullpen there.”
“As you are trying to find paths to win those close games, it certainly helps to have a bullpen where you have different options and can go to different places on different days,” he said. “We’ll see how it all shakes out. It’s nice to have some guys that can throw hard, for sure.”