White Sox Bolster Bullpen Ahead of Sunday Showdown with Rays

The Chicago White Sox, riding high on the momentum of their back-to-back wins, are gearing up for Sunday's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. Due to recent bullpen challenges, the Sox made strategic changes to bolster their performance.

The White Sox purchased the contract of former Kansas City Royal Brad Keller from Triple-A Charlotte. To make room for Keller, Chicago designated reliever Deivi Garcia for assignment. Saturday's starter, Jonathan Cannon, was sent down to Charlotte. The White Sox promoted reliever Prelander Berroa, a member of the 40-man roster, from the Knights to replace Garcia in the bullpen.

A Getz Guy

Berroa joined the White Sox organization in an offseason trade that sent Gregory Santos to the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners included outfielder Zach DeLoach and the 69th pick in the 2024 MLB Draft in the deal.

The righty appeared in only two games for Seattle in 2023 and will qualify as a rookie. After a rough start to the year, he has allowed just five runs and six walks while fanning eight over his last seven innings pitched. 

Deivi Garcia could never overcome his struggles after showing some promise at the end of last season. He's out of options and can return to the White Sox or become a free agent if he goes unclaimed. Garcia allowed a run in Saturday's victory on a walk and two wild pitches.

Familiar Face

Brad Keller signed a minor-league deal with the White Sox during Spring Training and has been ramping up in the minors since then. The veteran hurler was limited to just 45.1 innings last year due to shoulder injuries. He's an old foe who threw at Tim Anderson after the shortstop celebrated a homer with a bat toss in 2019.

Cannon returns to the minors as a member of the 40-man roster and will likely return to the majors later this season. The rookie struggled on Saturday and has looked overmatched since his sharp debut.

What's On Tap Next?

To the detriment of the team, manager Pedro Grifol has tried to steal additional outs with his struggling starters to protect his bullpen. The strategy has resulted poorly as the starters have coughed up leads. However, the reverse strategy of removing starters earlier in the game has overtaxed the relievers and produced ugly results.

Hopefully, fresh arms can alleviate this problem while the offense continues to provide some run support with its recent momentum.