(670 The Score) After a lot of heavy lifting by the front office, the White Sox have a bullpen that can match up with anyone in MLB and which has been fortified for a World Series run.
Ahead of the trade deadline Friday afternoon, the White Sox acquired star closer Craig Kimbrel in exchange for second baseman Nick Madrigal and reliever Codi Heuer. That gives the White Sox a pair of All-Star closers, as they already had their own in Liam Hendriks.
They highlight a bullpen that also features lefty Aaron Bummer, power arms in Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet and the newly acquired Ryan Tepera, whom the White Sox on Thursday also acquired in a trade with the Cubs.
"A couple of weeks ago, I asked (executive) Kenny Williams, ‘Of all the players expected to be moved, if you can acquire one, who would it be?’” general manager Rick Hahn said. “He and I had the same answer, and that is who we acquired (Kimbrel). We feel come October … a variety of weapons to shorten games was the goal."
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Needless to say, White Sox manager Tony La Russa was thrilled by the acquisitions of Kimbrel (0.49 ERA, 0.71 WHIP) and Tepera (2.91 ERA entering Friday).
“That is how we got here with that depth,” La Russa said. “To pull off what they did, it's the best message a front office can send a team.”
Now, it’s the responsibility of La Russa to decide how to best deploy them. With Kimbrel not having joined the team yet Friday afternoon, La Russa wouldn’t divulge the plan yet.
“I already talked to Liam about it and when Craig gets here, I will talk to him,” La Russa said. “As long as you communicate and tell them the plan, knowing both of them, I think they will embrace the plan. It would be very disrespectful to Craig if we told you what the plan was before he got here.”
Hahn was unconcerned about ego getting in the way of Hendriks and Kimbrel filling their roles once the plan has been set in motion.
“It is all about knowing the players involved,” Hahn said. “My discussions with Craig today was all about winning championships. It was about him playing a role and putting us in a position to get him another ring and get some of the guys in that dugout their first ring. Liam, as he told you before, will get the outs when he is called upon. Any given day one may be unavailable and we can give it to the other man. Come October, all bets are off. The best guys will get the best outs based on matchups. It gives (the coaching staff ) a chance to match up earlier in a ballgame now. It puts us in position where we should have a very dynamic and impactful bullpen regardless of what situation arises.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.