The White Sox are currently 44-39 and hold a one game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the American League Central. This is very impressive, especially considering the White Sox have been without their best power hitter, Munetaka Murakami, for the last month.
Additionally, the White Sox have continued to win games despite inconsistent production out of their pitching staff and bullpen over the course of the season. Currently, the White Sox have a team ERA of 4.22, which ranks 17th in the major leagues. If the White Sox are serious about making the playoffs, this will need to improve, as pitching is what will carry you deep into October.
There is no doubt the White Sox will have to acquire at least one or two starting pitchers and one or two bullpen arms if they want to make a deep playoff push. While it is unclear how aggressive the White Sox will be at the deadline, I’d imagine they make at least a few moves to try and make a push for the playoffs.
If the White Sox do acquire a starting pitcher, they will have to boot one of the arms that are currently in the rotation, unless they go with a six man rotation. Depending on what they do, it is likely that it’ll be Eric Fedde or Anthony Kay that loses their rotation spot.
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While Kay has been solid this season and has had some very impressive starts, he’s been inconsistent. However, the advanced stats show that Kay could be a valuable reliever if the White Sox were to move him to a bullpen role.
If you look at Kay’s season splits, he has been dominant against left-handed hitting. According to Baseball Reference, lefties are only hitting .181 off of him, while getting on base at .284 clip. He’s walked only seven lefties while striking out 27. These are elite numbers.
Anthony Kay, 97mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/CbHNMf9cml
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 10, 2026
The area where Kay has struggled has been against righties, as they are hitting .294 off of him, while getting on base at a .378 clip. Righties must be able to see the ball coming out of his hand a little better, as lefties haven’t had the same success.
These splits could make Kay an extremely valuable reliever for a playoff push. If they face a lefty-heavy lineup, he could come in and get those important outs. If the White Sox make the playoffs, pitching changes are extremely common, and Will Venable will likely rely on lefty/lefty matchups to get important outs. That’s where Kay can come in to play.
Overall, Kay hasn’t been bad, as nobody really knew what to expect after he came back from Japan. On the season, he has a 4.50 ERA and a 1.425 WHIP. If he were to switch to the bullpen, he could be a huge asset to the team. This may be a move to consider if the White Sox add a starting pitcher at the deadline.
The White Sox have received a huge boost from Sean Newcomb in this same type of role, and if they were to add Kay to the mix, they could have a significantly better bullpen, especially come time for the playoffs.
