White Sox reportedly still looking for more relief pitching as spring training nears

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Rick Hahn revealed over the weekend during SoxFest that the White Sox offseason isn't over yet and that the team is working on three or four potential acquisitions. Could another addition to the bullpen be one of them?

Jon Heyman tweeted Wednesday that the White Sox are among many teams still looking for relief pitching this offseason, and that large number of teams isn't a surprise given how many arms remain unsigned.

Hahn has already made two big-time upgrades to the South Side 'pen this winter, trading for Alex Colome and signing Kelvin Herrera. Those two are expected to slot in as the primary late-inning options for manager Rick Renteria.

Colome led the majors in saves two seasons ago when with the Tampa Bay Rays, and Hahn dealt backup catcher Omar Narvaez to the Seattle Mariners to acquire Colome as his team's new closer earlier this offseason. Herrera is well known to the White Sox and their fans from his days dealing out of the Kansas City Royals' bullpen.

But perhaps there are some more fresh faces coming to a group that outside of Colome, Herrera and Nate Jones is short on big league experience. Guys like Jace Fry, Ian Hamilton, Jose Ruiz and Ryan Burr have shown promise and could blossom into a relief corps of the future, but right now there's development left to be done. Adding another veteran to the group could help in that development and provide some competition during spring training and throughout the year.

There are still so many names on the market, this being a mere sampling:

Those are some of the top names, though it's possible Hahn and his front office are looking more along the lines of middle relief or even a swingman that could move between the bullpen and the starting rotation, depending on need. Remember that the fifth spot on the starting staff is still unclaimed.

Hahn made a point of saying that the offseason is still ongoing. Looking for bullpen help, something teams can never have enough of — and something Hahn has had success flipping at the trade deadline in each of the last two seasons — would be a logical thing for the White Sox to still be doing with spring training just a couple weeks away.

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