Breaking down 4 new faces in the White Sox bullpen

In the aftermath of the trade deadline, the White Sox’s bullpen looks much different. The South Side firesale saw the exit of six players, half of whom were relievers. With the departure of Kendall Graveman, Kenyan Middleton, and Joe Kelly, who is left to fill the void through the rest of the season?

Here, we examine the new faces in the bullpen and what they have to offer.

Declan Cronin

Declan Cronin became the first Holy Cross Crusader to play in the MLB since 1977 during his first appearance for the White Sox on July 30th against Cleveland, where he threw two innings and conceded two runs. He is a homegrown product, drafted in the 36th round by the White Sox in 2019. 

Since then, he steadily rose through the ranks of the farm system and spent all of the 2023 season in Charlotte before getting his chance in the big leagues. For the Knights this year he posted 41 relief appearances with a 4.03 ERA through 44.2 IP. 

Thus far with the White Sox, he has made four appearances, yielding five runs over six innings of work. The White Sox seem comfortable asking him to work multiple innings, as two of his four appearances have run two innings apiece.

Brent Honeywell

Brent Honeywell is a 28-year-old right-hander from Augusta, Georgia. He entered professional baseball in 2014 as a second-round selection of the Tampa Bay Rays. He climbed through their farm system as well as up the prospect ranking ladder, peaking as high as 11 before the 2018 season. 

Then, the injury bug bit, and bit hard. Honeywell underwent Tommy John surgery to miss the 2018 season, then suffered a fractured bone in his elbow, causing him to miss all of 2019 as well. He missed a third consecutive season in 2020 because of yet another arm surgery. Thankfully, he was able to make his Major League debut in 2021. 

After the 2021 season, he bounced around the league, pitching for the A’s in the minor leagues in 2022. The Padres signed him to start the 2023 season, which has been his most active so far. He appeared in 36 games for them throughout the season with a 4.05 ERA over 46.2 IP. At the beginning of August, the Padres decided to designate him for assignment, and the White Sox claimed him off of waivers. 

Thus far, Honeywell has made a pair of appearances for the White Sox, conceding no runs over 1.2 IP.

Lane Ramsey

Lane Ramsey is another late-round homegrown reliever for the White Sox, selected in the 23rd round of the 2018 draft. Since then, the 27-year-old right-hander has climbed up through the farm system.

Like Cronin, Ramsey has spent the entirety of the season before his call-up in Triple-A Charlotte. Over 32 appearances for the Knight, Ramsey posted a 5.50 ERA over 36 innings of work.

Thus far for the White Sox, Ramsey has appeared three times, allowing one earned run and two hits over 4.1 IP.

Deivi Garcia

In addition, the White Sox acquired Deivi Garcia off waivers from the Yankees. Garcia was one of the most touted pitching prospects in the game just a few short years ago. The past few years have seen him struggle mightily, however. In 2022, he posted a 6.85 ERA as a starter in Triple-A. This year, he made the move to the bullpen. It has not helped much, as his ERA remains high at 5.67. While he may be in Charlotte for now, Garcia could find himself getting a chance at least during September call-ups.

While none of these relievers come with especially high expectations, a thinned bullpen means they will have every opportunity between now and the end of the season to log some quality innings and get a jump on a 2024 roster spot.

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