January 17, 2019

Relief pitcher Alex Colome was coming off a career-high 47-save season with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017, making him a popular closer pick in fantasy drafts entering the 2018 campaign. While he pitched to a fine 3.04 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 9.5 K/9 in 70 outings last season, he was a disappointment in the fantasy realm because he dropped to just 12 saves. Eleven of those closures came with the Rays before he was traded to the Seattle Mariners after just 23 games. He had very little fantasy value with the move to the American League West, however, as he was setting up for Edwin Diaz, who led all of baseball in saves. Colome was better in Seattle, going 5-0 with a 2.53 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 9.5 K/9 and one save in 47 appearances. The late-inning reliever signed a one-year, $7.325 million deal with the Chicago White Sox in the offseason. At the time it looked as though he'd be Chicago's ninth-inning man heading into the 2019 season, but the Pale Hose also inked veteran reliever Kelvin Herrera, and he could wind up closing over Colome. The closing gig is by no means locked up, though, meaning Colome could be in line to improve upon the 12 saves he had last year. If he can avoid bouts of wildness, Colome should be serviceable for a White Sox club that should be much better. The uncertainty of his role in the bullpen makes him more of just a low-end fantasy closing option.--Keith Hernandez