White Sox deal to boost bullpen

July 8, 9:29 AMMLB ExaminerAlex Brown

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AP Photo/John Froschauer

The Chicago White Sox struck early to improve their bullpen, acquiring right-handed reliever Tony Pena from the Arizona Diamondbacks for a minor league prospect.  This deal likely means that the White Sox are buyers – exactly what are they getting, and what else do they need?

Pena becomes another solid reliever in what is already a pretty decent bullpen in Chicago.  He’s a hard thrower who was in the mix for the D’Backs closer role for the past two seasons, but hasn’t had a true breakout season yet.  His command of his offspeed stuff is shaky at best, which means hitters can sit on his fastball – a bad thing for a pitcher, no matter how hard he throws.  Pena also is still walking too many hitters at this stage in his career to be able to lock down a setup or closer role, but with the White Sox having Scott Linebrink and Octavio Dotel, Pena can assume a less important role.

So we know that the White Sox (2 games back in the American League Central) are buyers, but what else do they need?  I’m not sure they need any major pieces to compete in 2009.  They could use an offensive upgrade in center field, and in my opinion, should have pursued Jim Edmonds to fill the void.  However, none of the outfielders currently available provide enough of an offensive upgrade while maintaining the quality defense provided by the incumbent center fielder, Brian Anderson.  A while ago I may have said that they needed a starting pitcher, but Jose Contreras looks to be back on track with a 2.76 ERA in the last 30 days.  A good bat for the bench could be useful, but that’s far from a major acquisition.

Early July is when we see the “buyers” and “sellers” begin to settle into their roles as the July 31st trade deadline approaches.  With the White Sox striking first to improve their team, it will be interesting to see what their main competitors do to upgrade their squads as the end of the month approaches.