Tony La Russa tries to quiet talk of White Sox closer controversy

When the Chicago White Sox traded for Craig Kimbrel, the consensus was that they’d built perhaps the best bullpen in baseball. Less than a month later, manager Tony La Russa is answering questions about whether the Pale Hose might require a closer change.

Closer Liam Hendriks allowed three home runs in two games to Yankees hitters over the weekend, and his six blown saves lead all American League relievers. That sparked some chatter that Kimbrel might be worth looking at in the closer role instead, but La Russa shot down that notion. He asserted that Hendriks is the closer, and noted that Hendriks has been reliable all season despite being used in a variety of situations.

“That’s the same guy that the last two times has given it up,” La Russa said of Hendriks, via James Fegan of The Athletic. “That’s the same guy.”

La Russa added that he was eager to give Hendriks another save opportunity as soon as possible, although it did not come in a 5-3 loss Sunday.

“I walked through the clubhouse a couple of times and he’s just drooling and salivating and hoping to get another chance today,” La Russa said. “Smoke coming out of his ears and nose. He’s a very tough guy. He’s proven it and he’ll be ready, hopefully today. That will be a wonderful challenge, I hope with every breath I take that we all get a chance to see him with the lead in the ninth inning today.”

Kimbrel has allowed four runs in 6.2 innings since the White Sox acquired him, so he’s not exactly giving them a ton of reasons to contemplate a change. Chicago got plenty of deserved accolades for that blockbuster deal, and the two relievers might need to get settled into working with each other before we see their best. So far, however, it’s not working out as well in practice as it looks like it should on paper.