The White Sox have saved up some money in the last few weeks, possibly enabling them to make a move on the free agent market. Thankfully, it doesn't sound like they're going to pick up a closer.
In his weekly mailbag, MLB.com's Scott Merkin answered a question about the Sox possibly going after Ryan Madson or Francisco Cordero by writing the Sox are content with one of Addison Reed, Jesse Crain and Matt Thornton filling the 2012 closer role. That's good news -- spending money on a closer at this point would be frivolous.
Don't get me wrong, Madson's a good reliever who, performance-wise, would help most any bullpen. But he could earn around 10 million per year in his next contract, and that's not money the White Sox should shell out to a guy who's averaged about 1.4 WAR per season over the last four years.
Cordero isn't close to being worth that kind of money, and he's a prime candidate for a regression from his 2.45 ERA in 2011.
If the Sox do spend money, there are better ways to go about it. Like spending it on Yoenis Cespedes.