Chicago White Sox Save Opportunities To Be Given Based On Matchups

CHICAGO – Jordan Leasure locked down his first save of the season in Tuesday's 1-0 win over the Mariners. More save opportunities could be in store for the right-hander, but that will depend on the opponent, manager Will Venable said before Wednesday's game.

"We are going to continue to match guys up," Venable said. "I thought Leas did a great job last night. The slider was really good, and he’s always got the good fastball. After the [Donovan] Solano double, he did a nice job of locking it down. Nice moment for him and came up huge."

While most teams have a set closer, that's not the route the White Sox are taking. They thought former starter Mike Cleviner could earn that role in the early stages of the season, but he was designated for assignment on April 16 after allowing five earned runs across eight relief appearances.

The White Sox rank last in MLB with just four saves, behind the 29th place Colorado Rockies with sixth and first-place Arizona Diamondbacks with 17. Twenty three teams have 10 saves or more. The four saves are spread across four players: Leasure, Cam Booser, Brandon Eisert and Mike Vasil, each of whom have no more than three saves in their major league careers.

Last season, Michael Kopech led the White Sox with nine saves before being traded to the Dodgers. Nine other pitchers saved at least one game: John Brebbia, Tanner Banks, Leasure, Jonathan Cannon, Justin Anderson, Chad Kuhl, Fraser Ellard, Enyel De Los Santos and Deivi Garcia. But only three remain with the team, one of whom, Cannon, is in the starting rotation. Ellard is currently on the injured list.

Save opportunities have been few and far between for the 15-34 White Sox, but when they arise, Venable isn't rushing to name one specific player the closer.

"We just are going to match up," Venable said. "There are spots in the game. We can’t just choose which spots we line up with the ninth inning. These guys are all capable of getting outs. It’s just a matter of when it happens in the game for them. I think there’s some bullpens that are constructed where you can have a seventh, eighth, ninth inning guy if you want. Ours just isn’t constructed like that."

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