Not many outside pundits have faith in the Chicago White Sox next season. Oddsmakers set the White Sox over/under for wins at just 49.5. A major reason why is the bullpen.
The White Sox historically bad 2024 season was fueled by a bullpen that posted the third-highest ERA in the MLB at 4.74. White Sox relievers also converted on just 35 percent of their save opportunities with a league-leading 36 blown saves.
The White Sox never had a true closer, especially after trading Michael Kopech to the Dodgers. Kopech led the team with nine saves at the time of the deal. Following the trade the White Sox bullpen was a revolving door in high-leverage situations. This included Deivi Garcia (7.07 ERA), John Brebbia (6.29 ERA), Jordan Leasure (6.32 ERA), Steven Wilson (5.71 ERA), Justin Anderson (4.39 ERA) and Tanner Banks (4.13).
The White Sox have already brought in several arms to try and remedy the situation, including 32-year-old southpaw Cam Booser, who was pitching in independent ball for the Chicago Dogs as recently as 2021. But if the White Sox are going to improve next season they are going to need to see contributions from some holdovers from last season. One name to keep an eye on is Prelander Berroa.
Berroa was traded to Chicago from the Mariners for Gregory Santos in a package that included outfielder Zach DeLoach. While DeLoach was the headliner of the deal, Berroa had some exciting upside.
The 24-year-old right-hander has one of the hardest fastballs in the game, with a four-seamer averaging nearly 98 mph that can touch triple digits. His fastball-slider combination proved to be lethal in the Mariners organization. In Double-A he posted a 2.89 ERA for the Arkansas Travelers in 2023 with 13.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Last season he threw 19 innings for the White Sox with solid results. He posted a 3.32 ERA and limited opponents to a .212 batting average, striking out 31 percent of hitters he faced.
While it was a limited sample size there is plenty of reason to believe that Berroa can continue to grow as a reliever. His slider proved to be devastating, with an expected batting average of just .113 when he threw it. That is partly thanks to his high release point, which makes it look like a fastball coming out of his hand before it falls out of the strike zone. Hitters struggled to square up the baseball against Berrora, resulting in an 18.6 hard-hit percentage against him.
Berrora’s three-pitch arsenal also features a 97 mph sinker. While he only used it three percent of the time last season it was nearly untouchable with an expected batting average of just 0.71. Despite having the stuff to be a future closer, he struggled when he was implemented in high-leverage situations. Berroa owned an ERA over 4.00 in the seventh and eighth innings last season. The culprit is poor control.
Berroa allowed 210 free passes during his first six seasons in the minor leagues. Last season he posted a 15.7 percent walk rate, which was amongst the worst in baseball. If he can hone in on his control this offseason, he could turn into a nice piece at the backend of the White Sox bullpen.
