White Sox have concerning bullpen problem that has no proper fix

The Chicago White Sox have been jockeying with the Cleveland Guardians over the AL Central lead recently, and while they have a chance to secure the division, there is a major problem that's come up for this team as the season comes to a close.

Part of the problem for the White Sox is that, while their offense has been great, their starting rotation has been terrible. But the bullpen has been awesome for much of the season; that should help fix things, right?

Well, as ESPN's David Schoenfield notes, the bullpen appears to be out of gas. This bullpen has been run into the ground by Will Venable to keep the season alive, and now the heavily taxed bullpen could prove to be a "fatal flaw" this postseason.

"Chicago White Sox. Fatal flaw: Bullpen is out of gas (see Cleveland series)," Schoenfield writes. "The White Sox are running on fumes."

This White Sox bullpen, while it's been great for much of the season, has pitched the most innings in baseball thanks to the very shaky at-best starting rotation.

With Sean Burke, Davis Martin, Anthony Kay, Erick Fedde, David Sandlin, and Luis Castillo having underwhelming, if not terrible, second halves for the White Sox, the bullpen has been too heavily taxed as they've tried to keep their AL Central dreams alive.

Bryan Hudson has a 2.77 ERA in 65 innings, Grant Taylor has a 2.34 ERA in 80.2 innings, Sean Newcomb has a 2.95 ERA in 85.1 innings, Jordan Hicks has a 4.17 ERA in 45.1 innings, and Trevor Richards has a 3.60 ERA in 70 innings of work.

MORE: Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski makes all kinds of MLB history with 1,000 pitches of 100 mph

Plenty of other relievers have seen their fair share of work this season, but those five main relievers have made the most appearances this season.

Part of the issue is that these aren't just one-inning outings. Taylor, Newcomb, and Richards are all working multiple innings at a time, which has taxed these relievers even more than normal.

The White Sox have had one of MLB's best bullpens this year. But it's been too heavily taxed, and now there are some real concerns about the bullpen's ability to stay strong enough to not only secure a postseason spot, but also make a run this October.

Thanks to a poor starting rotation, the White Sox's bullpen, which has run out of gas, could become this team's "fatal flaw" come the postseason this year.