With Hendriks coming in, here’s how the bullpen looks
Liam Hendriks began his major-league career as a starter but has become one of the game’s best closers.
The Chicago White Sox reportedly signed Hendriks late Monday to a threeyear deal, with a team option for a fourth season, for $54 million guaranteed.
The right-hander was the top free-agent reliever on the market. He won the American League Reliever of the Year Award in 2020 with the Oakland Athletics.
“What that does, if you have a legitimate closer, it helps you set up the rest of the bullpen and it also has an effect on your opponents knowing that the game has gotten short,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said in December when asked of the importance of having a proven reliever in the role.
La Russa will get to implement that game plan. Here’s a breakdown, alphabetically, of the possible bullpen options for the upcoming season.
Aaron Bummer
The left-hander was limited to nine appearances and 91⁄3 innings during the
2020 season because of a strained left biceps. He allowed just one run on five hits, finishing 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA, 14 strikeouts and five walks.
Bummer had three holds in 2020 after tying for sixth in the AL in 2019 with 27. He has been the team’s top setup man and shown the ability to excel if needed for two innings.
Jimmy Cordero
The right-hander didn’t pitch every game in 2020 — it just felt that way. He was second in the AL with 30 relief appearances.
Cordero went 1-2 with a 6.08 ERA, 22 strikeouts and nine walks in 262⁄3 innings.
His availability on nearly a nightly basis is one of his strengths.
Cordero was suspended during the final series of the season after hitting Cubs catcher Willson Contreras with a pitch. Cordero appealed, and any suspension would take place in 2021.
Garrett Crochet
The Sox selected the left-hander with the No. 11 pick in the 2020 draft. It didn’t take long for him to make an impact at the major-league level.
Crochet was called up from the Schaumburg training facility Sept. 18, and he displayed a blazing fastball that was clocked at triple digits. Forty-five of his 85 pitches (52.9%) were 100-plus mph.
Crochet allowed three hits in six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. He was the first option out of the bullpen in Game 3 of the wild-card series against the Athletics but left with tightness in his left forearm.
General manager Rick Hahn gave an update in October, saying Crochet had a flexor strain and that the ulnar collateral ligament was clean. He added that Crochet should be without restriction in the spring.
The long-term plans are for Crochet to be a starter. He could be used in a multi-inning relief role this season and also see some time in the minors as he begins making the transition.
Matt Foster
The right-hander aided the Sox in multiple ways during his rookie season.
He appeared in 23 games, including two starts as an opener. That versatility could come in handy again in 2021.
Foster went 6-1 with a 2.20 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 282⁄3 innings and began his career with 141⁄3 consecutive scoreless innings.
He appeared in Game 3 of the wild-card series, allowing two walks with the bases loaded in one-third of an inning.
Jace Fry
The left-hander had a career-low 3.66 ERA in 18 appearances in 2020.
Fry went 0-1 with one hold, 24 strikeouts and 12 walks in 192⁄3 innings. Opponents hit .225 (16-for-71) against Fry.
Fry, who gives the team left-handed relief depth, and the Sox came to terms on a one-year deal for $862,500 on Dec. 2 to avoid arbitration.
Liam Hendriks
With Alex Colome a free agent, one of the top offseason questions for the Sox centered around the team’s closer role. Hendriks provides the answer and is one more reason why the Sox should be one of the favorites in the AL.
Hendriks received votes for the AL Cy Young Award and AL MVP in 2020.
He went 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA and 14 saves in 15 opportunities for the Athletics, earning the AL Reliever of the Year Award. He had 37 strikeouts and three walks in 251⁄3 innings. He had 25 saves and a 1.80 ERA during his All-Star season in 2019, striking out 124 batters in 85 innings.
The Sox will be looking for that type of consistency in 2021.
Codi Heuer
The right-hander, like Crochet and Foster, impressed as a rookie.
Heuer went was 3-0 with a 1.52 ERA, 25 strikeouts and nine walks in 232⁄3 innings.
He did not allow a run in 18 of his 21 regular-season outings.
Heuer pitched a scoreless eighth inning in Game 2 of the wild-card series but surrendered a two-run homer in 11⁄3 innings in Game 3.
He likely will be called upon in those key in high-leverage situations again in 2021.
Evan Marshall
The right-hander has been a dependable setup man for the Sox.
Marshall is 6-3 with a 2.45 ERA, 27 holds and 71 strikeouts in 78 outings in his two seasons with the team.
He went 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA, eight holds, 30 strikeouts and seven walks in 23 appearances in 2020. One of his more memorable outings came Sept. 14 against the Twins when he struck out Nelson Cruz with the bases loaded to end a sixth-inning jam.
Marshall signed a one-year, $2 million deal Dec. 31, avoiding arbitration.
Additional bullpen arms for the Sox could include right-handers Jimmy Lambert, Jose Ruiz, Zack Burdi and Tyler Johnson. Lambert missed most of 2020 because of a right forearm strain. Ruiz had a 2.25 ERA in five appearances and Burdi had an 11.05 ERA in eight relief outings in 2020. Johnson was added to the 40-man roster in November.