Chicago White Sox: Three likely landing spots for Alex Colome
There’s a bit of buzz surrounding free agent reliever Alex Colome, so here’s a ranking of where the Chicago White Sox closer may end up in 2021.
This offseason has been slow for all free agents on the market, but the rumors and action surrounding free agent bullpen arms has been especially quiet, other than Trevor May securing himself more than $15 from the New York Mets. But there’s some new buzz about former Chicago White Sox closer Alex Colome.
According to FanSided’s Robert Murray, the White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, and Washington Nationals have all recently expressed interest in Alex Colome, with the Minnesota Twins also having reportedly checked-in on the 32-year-old reliever.
With Liam Hendriks, Blake Treinen, Brad Hand, and Trevor Rosenthal available, relievers like Alex Colome are likely going to have to wait a bit longer to sign. But if a team in need of bullpen help wants to go ahead and grab a late-inning arm now without spending a significant amount of money, going after Colome now makes a lot of sense.
He’s coming off a solid 2020 campaign, going 2-0 with 12 saves, a 0.81 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and no home runs allowed across 22.1 innings.
However, there is some risk with bringing in Alex Colome, if a team is going to rely on him to close out games.
Colome recorded a 2.97 FIP and 4.26 xFIP, while seeing his strikeout rate fall below 20% for the first time since 2015, and he maintained a 9% walk rate for a second-straight season. The profile is a bit strange, with plenty of impressive numbers, including plenty of weak contact and groundballs, but the expected numbers aren’t as friendly.
Regardless, unless a team is willing to spend some money to improve their bullpen, Alex Colome is a solid, lower-cost gamble to take next season. Let’s rank the most likely destinations for the Chicago White Sox reliever.
Alex Colome would fill a big need for the Boston Red Sox.
While the Chicago White Sox are familiar with Alex Colome and his body of work, they do have an impressive group of internal candidates to close out games, and if they really want to go for it in 2021, landing a Hand or Hendriks would be the better option.
One team that seems like a good fit is the Boston Red Sox. Boston has been active in the starting pitching market, but they need to address the bullpen, specifically late-inning relievers, if they expect to compete in the AL East next season.
Matt Barnes took control of the ninth inning last season and while he struck out just over 30% of hitters he faced, Barnes allowed 1.57 HR/9 and recorded a second-straight season of 13% or higher walk rate. His 4.84 FIP was the second-highest mark of his seven seasons in Boston.
Without any other standout candidates to assume the ninth-inning role and the Boston Red Sox not looking to spend a bunch of money this winter, Alex Colome is a fit.
It also doesn’t hurt that Colome’s best seasons as an eight-year MLB veteran all came in the American League East as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.
If the Washington Nationals want to go for it in 2021, a reliever like Alex Colome will help.
Earlier this winter, it appeared as if the Washington Nationals were going to follow suit, stay quiet, and begin their transition to a new era in DC with many notable names in franchise history moving on or preparing to retire in the near future.
But the starting rotation is still led by Max Scherzer and Trea Turner and Juan Soto, two of the brightest young players in the game, are still in the lineup, and should be for a very long time.
It now appears that the Nationals are preparing to load up and content for an NL East title in 2021, having already traded for Josh Bell from the Pittsburgh Pirates to fill their void at first base.
It’s now time to address the bullpen, but the Nationals could end up becoming players for a high-priced free agent or two, and also have some notable extensions they will be working on soon, so addressing the bullpen without committing a large sum of money will be the likely path in DC.
Daniel Hudson led the way in 2020, saving 10 games and striking out 30% of hitters. But the rest of his numbers weren’t as pretty.
Hudson was worth -0.4 Wins Above Replacement with a 6.29 FIP, a 12% walk rate, and six home runs allowed across 20 innings. Needless to say, an upgrade is needed.
The Houston Astros need bullpen help in the Alex Colome price range.
Ryan Pressly filled in well as the ninth-inning guy for the Houston Astros last season, leading all Houston relievers with a 0.7 fWAR while striking out 32% of opponents and posting a 2.81 FIP.
But Houston is in need of more bullpen help for 2021, a unit that ranked among the middle of the pack last season in terms of Wins Above Replacement value, but walked more than 12% of hitters.
The Astros will also need to add multiple outfielders and have been connected to both Michael Brantley and Jackie Bradley Jr. two hitters who will likely command more than $10 million per season, which may price Houston out of the Hendriks market and place them into the Alex Colome market.
The AL West is up for grabs in 2021, with the Texas Rangers rebuilding, the Seattle Mariners still a year or two away, and the Angels having yet to add any starting pitching help and no track record of being very great at surrounding Mike Trout with quality help.
Next. Andrew Vaughn could get a look in 2021. dark
While there may be some questions about his overall profile, Alex Colome is still one of the top relief arms available on the market and for teams looking to add quality bullpen help at a more manageable price tag, Colome is one of the more reliable options available.