Whether Brett Myers closes or not, he'll bring some key depth to a White Sox bullpen that has struggled as of late. From a veteran aspect, Myers will bring experience to the Sox youth-oriented bullpen that has cycled through plenty of rookies this season.
On the mound, Myers has had success this season, posting a 3.52 ERA in 30 23 innings this season. He has a 4.24 FIP, which could be discouraging -- but looking at what goes into FIP, it may just be the product of a small sample size. In those 30 23 innings, he's allowed four home runs, which shows up as a high home run rate. But he's only issued six walks, and he's getting penalized because of a low strikeout rate (about six per nine innings).
If you want to be concerned about Myers, maybe look past his FIP and toward the fact he's only pitched in the National League during his career. But that's a tenuous concern at best, since nobody knows how Myers will adjust to pitching in a different league. That he's pitched over a decade in the majors could be a decent enough reason to think he'll be able to adapt pretty easily.
Myers was outstanding in April and May, compiling a 2.08 ERA with 14 strikeouts, three walks and two home runs allowed. He's regressed a bit since, posting a 5.40 ERA with six strikeouts, three walks and two home runs allowed in 13 13 innings.
In speaking to the Houston media, Myers seemed excited to get into a pennant race -- something he hasn't come close to experiencing during his 2 12 years in Houston -- so maybe that'll fuel some better results than he's seen since the start of June.
It's a risk worth taking for the Sox, since it's not really a risk at all. Only paying about 1 million for a veteran reliever while not giving up much in the way of prospects makes this deal one certainly worth making.