White Sox Pitching Depth A Massive Strength Following Recent Signings

It has been a busy and terrific week for the Chicago White Sox as they signed two veteran starters to bolster their rotation. Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez signed with Chicago this week providing the team with much-needed pitching depth. From last season to now, the team has done a complete 180 with its starting pitching depth which is key to competing.

In 2018, The team's starting rotation to begin the season included Carlos Rodon, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Ivan Nova, and Ervin Santana. By mid-May, the team was down to just Giolito, Nova, and Lopez. Rodon was lost to Tommy John surgery and Santana was released after just three starts.

For the remainder of the season, Chicago would struggle to find a consistent rotation. Manny Banuelos, Ross Detwiler, Dylan Covey, and Carson Fulmer would create a revolving door of starters throughout the season. None were effective and Chicago's top pitching prospect Dylan Cease was called up to help stabilize the rotation for the second half of the season. The inconsistency of the back of the rotation limited the White Sox ability to climb above .500 in the first half of the season.

Now with Keuchel and Gonzalez, the team will have seven proven starters on the roster. It allows both Rodon and Michael Kopech to take their time recovering and returning from their Tommy John surgeries. Both free agent pitchers have had multiple seasons of 25 starts or more. They also have had multiple seasons of 200 innings pitched. Since the Chris Sale trade in 2016, only one Sox starter has surpassed 200 innings pitched which was James Shields in 2018.

The depth allows for a lot of flexibility especially in the second half of the 2020 season. When Kopech or Rodon are ready to return, the team can use them in a relief role, especially as a potential closer if Alex Colome struggles in any way. They could replace either Cease or Lopez if either of the two are ineffective in the first half of the season.

Both Keuchel and Gonzalez also provide much needed veteran guidance for the young pitching staff. Outside of the Rodon, the rest of the starting pitchers are under the age of 26. The free-agent pitchers will lead by example on how successful pitchers handle their routine from the day they are starting to what they do on the four days in between. That is huge for an inexperienced staff that has not been apart of a winning culture.

The signings made by the White Sox this week are huge because they turned their biggest weakness in 2019 into their biggest strength heading into 2020. There are so many possibilities for a team that now features this much starting rotation talent and depth. The depth will be noticeable in the second half of the season when the White Sox could be competing for a winning record and a playoff berth.