Option #4: Bring up the kids
The White Sox have already shown a willingness to bring top prospects up and thrown them into the big league fire with the promotion of Anderson after cutting ties with the ineffective Jimmy Rollins. They also bolstered their bullpen with Sale a few years back, shortly after he was drafted.
The problem, as was mentioned, is that Chicago lacks many prospects that could make an impact at the big league level right now. Aside from Anderson, Fullmer, and Burdi, the cupboard is pretty much bare.
Fullmer is 4-8 with a 5.28 ERA in 15 starts for the Double-A Birmingham Barons, and his walks per nine innings is over 5.0, which suggests he isn’t quite ready for prime time. Burdi has thrown just one inning in rookie ball and two in advanced A-ball since signing on June 18th, but threw 30 innings in 27 appearances with 11 saves for Louisville before the Cardinals were bounced from the NCAA tournament.
Perhaps Fullmer can fill one of the starting roles, and perhaps Burdi and his triple-digit fastball can be rushed to the majors Sale-style to bolster the bullpen, but it’s not clear that either move would help the Sox stay in contention throughout the summer.
Next: Demolition man?