When Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn signed Jose Dariel Abreu, he instantaneously ignited the fan base.
Twitter timelines erupted in support, praise, admonishment and utter anger over Abreu’s signing. Like it or love it, though, Hahn and the White Sox signaled to everyone who is paying attention that they would like their return to relevance to be as quick as possible.
An unfortunate reality exists, however. As MLB.com’s Scott Merkin tweeted after the Abreu signing was announced, the power-hitting first baseman may be the only high-profile move the White Sox make this offseason. That could mean that Sox fans are in for another fun-filled year of Alejandro De Aza and Dayan Viciedo in the outfield.
One area that Hahn will be able to address without committing to the mammoth contracts Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Robinson Cano will demand is the bullpen. With Hector Santiago’s future role uncertain—and David Purcey’s outright assignment to Triple-A Charlotte—the Sox have as many as three open spots in the ‘pen.
Here are five options to round out the White Sox relief corps presented in alphabetical order.
All velocity, location and ratio data is courtesy of BrooksBaseball.net. Unless otherwise noted, all player statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.