Chicago White Sox: Who will be the closer in 2018?

There are several question marks on the roster for the Chicago White Sox as spring training 2018 unfolds. And one of those is establishing who will close out games.

After the departure of David Robertson last season, the Chicago White Sox were left scrambling to find someone who could take over the closer role. Robertson had been the guy for the previous two and a half seasons, saving 84 games during that span.

Of the 25 saves the White Sox earned during the 2017 season, Robertson had 13 of them. The only other members of the staff to record a save were Juan Minaya (9), Tyler Clippard (2) and Anthony Swarzak (1).

Minaya is the only one of those three that is even in camp with the White Sox this spring. He will certainly be a guy that gets a look at the role, but it will likely be a competition between two guys.

The one guy on the roster that has the most experience closing out games is the newly acquired Joakim Soria. He has over 200 saves in his career with his best stretch coming between 2008-2011 with the Kansas City Royals when he averaged almost 36 per season.

At 33 years old, Soria is on the back end of his career but could be serviceable in the role for a young, rebuilding Chicago White Sox team, although he has only saved two games in 16 opportunities over the past two seasons in primarily a setup role.

Another option could be the hard-throwing but often injured Nate Jones.

After a promising first two seasons in the league (2013-2014) when he went a combined 12-5 with an ERA of 3.56, Jones ran into injury problems.  He had Tommy John surgery in 2014, and missed the entire season but came back to throw effectively at the end of 2015. He followed that up with a solid 2016 season (5-3, 2.29 ERA) despite only saving three games in 12 opportunities.

Jones then threw just over 11 innings in 2017 before going on the DL with neuritis in his pitching arm. Jones eventually had nerve repositioning surgery in July and was lost for the remainder of the season.

The good news is that he’s healthy again this spring and has looked solid so far. He has thrown four scoreless innings allowing only two hits to go along with five strikeouts.

While Jones and Soria appear to be the leaders for the closer role, manager Rick Renteria hasn’t made it known who will be his guy just yet.

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"“They haven’t said anything about what roles guys are going to play,” Jones said to the Chicago Tribune. “There are several of us that have been around that know (this) will shake itself out. No reason for us to worry about what role we’re going to be in because we’re all flexible. “We’ve all played each other’s role. That’s going to be a great part of this bullpen.”"

Whoever wins the battle will not be the long term solution at the position. Both Jones and Soria are over the age of 30, and the remaining options would be placeholders at best.

The reality is that the future closer of the Chicago White Sox is not likely on the current 40-man roster.

One prospect who looked to be on the fast track to taking over the role was Zach Burdi until his 2017 season ended with Tommy John Surgery after tearing a ligament in his pitching arm.

Next: White Sox: Injury bug hits prospects hard

Despite the setback, Burdi is still ranked as the 12th best prospect in the organization according to MLB.com. If all goes well, he should be back for spring training in 2019 to compete for the role.

For now, it looks like Jones or Soria will be the closer with the other likely serving as the setup man.