White Sox No Longer Pursuing Yasiel Puig and Nicholas Castellanos as They Look to Improve Bullpen

With two sluggers snagged this offseason in Nomar Mazara and Edwin Encarnacion, the Chicago White Sox now have their eyes set on improving other areas of the team, specifically on the pitching staff.

Per Bob Nightengale, the team is no longer pursuing free agent outfielders Yasiel Puig and Nicholas Castellanos, who would both be expensive hood ornaments, at this point. They have instead turned their focus towards revamping their bullpen.

Things didn't go according to plan for Chicago's back end very often in 2019. Kelvin Herrera, for example, was viewed as one of the team's top relief options entering the year, but he went on to pitch to the tune of an abysmal 6.14 ERA, and things aren't likely to get much better heading into next year without some outside help.

Of the six relievers that logged at least 40 innings of work for the Chicago White Sox last season, only Aaron Bummer logged a FIP below 4.00. He finished the year with a respectable 3.14 mark.

There are still plenty of solid relief options available, especially on the trade market. If the White Sox were willing to part ways with some key prospects, they could possibly land Josh Hader from the Milwaukee Brewers.

In what has already been a wildly successful offseason, all that's left for the White Sox to do is top things off with a relief acquisition or two. If they can manage that, they'll be heading into 2020 with sky-high expectations.