The White Sox may not be able to add a traditional closer, but signing the right veteran arm could stabilize the bullpen in 2026.
The Chicago White Sox have been looking for bullpen help this winter.
General manager Chris Getz hasn’t been shy about addressing that publicly, but the team still appears to be searching for a high-leverage relief option.
Many White Sox fans expected the club to land a traditional closer in free agency. After all, the team leader in saves during the 2025 season was Jordan Leasure—with just seven. In 2024, it was Michael Kopech with nine, before he was traded at the deadline.
From the outside, closer feels like a glaring need. Internally, though, the White Sox don’t see it that way.
Chicago appears comfortable giving its internal options a real opportunity in 2026—whether that’s Leasure, Grant Taylor, or a closer-by-committee approach. Still, the team would like a veteran arm it can rely on in high-leverage spots, even if that pitcher doesn’t come with recent ninth-inning experience.
“We’re looking to help our bullpen,” Getz said back in early December. “And there’s different ways of doing that. I wouldn’t say it’s a set closer, so to speak.
“It would be nice to get someone who has closer experience, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a ninth-inning guy, or even an eighth-inning guy. Someone that can help in higher-leverage situations is something that we’re set out to add.”
At this point, it feels safe to rule out a traditional closer. With Pete Fairbanks signing with the Marlins, it’s clear the White Sox aren’t pursuing a reliever coming off a 30-save season. The market drove up those price tags.
Getz has been clear: it might not be a ninth-inning guy. It might not even be an eighth-inning guy. But it will be someone capable of stepping into big moments.
Who could that be? Keep an eye on Scott Barlow. To me, he's the perfect White Sox bullpen target.
Scott Barlow
Barlow is a 33-year-old veteran with eight seasons of MLB experience. Across 440 career appearances, he owns a 3.60 ERA.
From 2021–2023, Barlow served as the primary closer for the Kansas City Royals, recording a career-high 24 saves with a 2.18 ERA in 2022. Since then, he’s bounced around a bit—spending time with the Padres, Guardians, and Reds—but the performance and underlying metrics have remained strong.
In 2025, Barlow ranked in the 96th percentile in average exit velocity and the 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, while also sitting in the 87th percentile in whiff rate.
Translation: he rarely gets hit hard. And despite being a pitcher who induces plenty of soft contact, he also misses bats at an above-average clip.
Barlow graded out above the mean in expected batting average, strikeout rate, barrel rate, and ground-ball rate out of the Reds’ bullpen.
The only knock is his control. His 14.9 percent walk-rate last season was among the worst in baseball. But he’s consistently found ways to pitch around it and limit damage—something he’s done throughout his career.
And to be honest, the White Sox haven’t exactly shied away from bullpen arms with control issues. That’s often something that can be improved with mechanical tweaks. I'd bet on Brian Bannister and Zach Bove to oversee some improvement here.
The data suggests Barlow can continue to be a productive, high-leverage reliever. His durability is another major selling point for me. He’s appeared in 60 or more games in every full season since being called up, with the lone exception coming during the shortened 2020 COVID season—when he still led MLB with 32 appearances in a 60-game schedule.
Barlow brings some closing experience without the price tag of an established closer. Spotrac projects him to earn less than $3 million annually, and even if that number creeps up a bit, it’s a deal the White Sox should be all over.
You get reliability, high-leverage experience, strong advanced metrics, and a deep, well-balanced arsenal. Barlow throws five pitches at fairly even rates. He leans on his sweeper, but both his four-seam fastball and sinker play, giving him flexibility to keep hitters guessing.
The postseason résumé is limited. Barlow made his playoff debut in 2025 with the Reds, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings, retiring all five Dodgers batters he faced—four by strikeout.
He’s the ideal veteran to step in, mentor young White Sox pitchers, and contribute wherever Will Venable needs him—sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, or anything in between.
Chicago would be a better team if it got this deal done.