Matt Thornton has allowed a total of four hits and four earned runs in his past two relief appearances.

Thornton's ERA was at 0.82 at the end of April and is already up to 3.75 here on May 7. The White Sox have transferred starter Chris Sale back to the bullpen in a desperation move to shore up some of their late-inning issues. Thornton might be asked to pitch in low-pressure situations for the next couple of games.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura indicated Friday that who he uses as a closer could depend on the matchup.

Obviously, it's not what fantasy owners want to hear, and it's the opposite of what pitching coach Don Cooper said in the Chicago Sun-Times. "No, we are not doing committee,'' Cooper said. "There will be a set closer.'' Matt Thornton is still probably the best bet for saves, but Jesse Crain, Addison Reed and Hector Santiago could all be in the mix.

Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the "smart money" is on Matt Thornton opening the season as the White Sox closer.

It makes sense, as manager Robin Ventura recently referred to Thornton and Jesse Crain are the "best options" for the job, and Crain is out with an oblique injury. Addison Reed is the closer of the future, but the Sox are expected to bring him along in a setup role first. Ventura said he might not officially name a closer until the team's last two exhibition games.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura said Thursday that Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain are the "best options" for the closer job.

Absent is the name of Addison Reed, whose "hype," Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says, has "cooled a bit." Thornton has been unscored upon in his three outings this spring and should probably be viewed as the favorite to close at this point, especially since Crain is nursing a minor oblique injury. We still like Reed the best over the long haul, but Thornton should probably be at the top of your list for fantasy purposes.

White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper expressed surprise on the Mully and Hanley Show Friday when told that manager Robin Ventura views Matt Thornton as the favorite to be the team's closer.

"Who said that? You're giving me news,'' Cooper said. "It's news to me.'' The pitching coach added: "Like I said, Matt is certainly capable. You have Addison Reed is a kid who has to work into it. You can't name him. You got Jesse Crain -- he is a guy who is more than capable. We'll figure it out.'' In reality, Thornton is probably the favorite, but there will be a battle for the job in spring training. We like Reed best over the long term, but the Sox might ease the youngster into the role.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura confirmed Wednesday that he's viewing Matt Thornton as his closer.

"It's open, but right now I would say Matt is probably the guy to do that," Ventura told WSCR-AM 670 in Chicago. Thornton, a 35-year-old left-hander, has a 2.84 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 260 innings since the start of the 2008 season. He should do just fine in the ninth inning.

According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, a trade that would potentially send left-hander Matt Thornton to the Braves is "picking up steam."

The White Sox unloaded closer Sergio Santos to the Blue Jays on Tuesday and may now be looking at other moves as part of an offseason fire-sale. Thornton, 35, posted a 3.32 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 59 2/3 innings this past year for Chicago. He's owed $12 million over the next two seasons.

ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the White Sox are trying to trade left-hander Matt Thornton.

Thornton posted an underwhelming 3.32 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 59 2/3 innings this year for the White Sox and is owed $12 million over the next two seasons. The 35-year-old southpaw might still fetch a decent prospect because of his past dominance, but it's unlikely that the Pale Hose will be blown away by trade offers.

White Sox GM Kenny Williams said the odds that he'll make another trade before the deadline are "very, very slim."

The Sox are receiving plenty of hits on Carlos Quentin and Matt Thornton, but since they're still in the playoff hunt, they would have to be wowed by an offer, which hasn't happened. ``Absolutely there's always a chance [of a deal],'' Williams said, ``but I would say that chance is very, very slim. I don't see anything on the horizon, and everything that potentially can be done comes at a sacrifice of the guys I expect we would need to try to win this division, so it's very unlikely.''

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that the Rangers are interested in Matt Thornton.

It's not clear whether he's a backup plan in case they don't get Heath Bell or if they possibly want both relievers. The problem, though, is that the White Sox in return have asked for Derek Holland, who the Rangers surely would not give up in such a trade. Thornton has also drawn interest from the Yankees.

A major league source told Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com that the Yankees have interest in left-hander Matt Thornton.

It's not surprising, as the Yankees could use another left-hander in their bullpen with Boone Logan as their best current option and Pedro Feliciano and Damaso Marte unlikely to contribute in any significant way this season. Thornton, 34, is owed $11 million from 2012-2013 after signing an extension over the winter. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday that the Cardinals also have interest in the veteran left-hander, potentially as part of a package involving center fielder Colby Rasmus.

Matt Thornton pitched two perfect innings to save Saturday's win over the Cubs.

Thornton struck out two en route to his first save since May 22. Sergio Santos was unavailable after pitching in three consecutive games -- and has successfully converted each of his last seven save opportunities -- so don't look into it too much.

Matt Thornton finally picked up his first save of the season with a perfect 10th inning Wednesday against the Angels.

Sergio Santos got the win in relief after throwing scoreless eighth and ninth innings. Santos remains the clear favorite for saves in the White Sox pen, but it's very encouraging to see Thornton turning it around. He's allowed one run in 3 2/3 innings this month.

Former White Sox closer Matt Thornton picked up a sacrifice out and walked a batter before handing the ball to new closer Sergio Santos in a 3-2 win over the Yankees.

When Thornton took the mound to start the ninth inning with a one-run lead, it looked like old times. But he has a long way to go to regain the top spot in the bullpen. The more likely best-case scenario is a return to proficiency as a set-up man.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen refused to commit to Matt Thornton as his primary closer prior to Tuesday's game against the Athletics.

"The closer situation: Whoever is going to be out there is the closer," said Guillen. "I don't want to come here every day and explain to you guys if [Thornton] is a guy I still believe in. Yes, I still believe in him. I still have a lot of faith. I think he can do the job. In the meanwhile it's my job to win games and I will put the guys in there who can do the job on that particular day." Thornton has blown all three of his save opportunities thus far, though he hasn't received much help from his defense. We still think he's the best option in the ninth inning, but Sergio Santos, Chris Sale and Jesse Crain could all be used in certain situations.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen intends to start using a closer by committee.

He's reversing course from comments made Saturday when he defended Matt Thornton. Thornton is still likely to see the majority of save chances, but it appears Guillen will use multiple other options. "I've got three or four guys who can close," Guillen said. "I got [Jesse] Crain, [Chris] Sale, [Sergio] Santos and Thornton that can close the end of the game. Don't be surprised if you see one of those guys. We'll do that because someone needs the rest or we like the matchup better. There's a lot of things going through our minds about who's going to be pitching the ninth." Guillen added: "I didn't use Thornton yesterday because we used him too much the night before -- he got too many pitches," Guillen said. "If Thornton was ready yesterday, I would have put him in. That's the way it should be. Meanwhile, don't be surprised when you see Santos on the mound in closing situations."

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has no plans to change closers despite Matt Thornton blowing his first two save chances of the season.

Thronton gave up five runs Friday, but they were all unearned due to two errors. "He'll get most of the save situations," Guillen said. "[There were] a couple broken-bat hits, and the only ball hit hard was the home run. We made a couple mistakes, and that was the game. We played very bad baseball in the ninth.'' Thornton deserves to chance to right the ship, but with Chris Sale (6/0 K/BB ratio in 4 1/3 innings so far) around as a perfectly capable option, his leash probably isn't that long anymore.

Matt Thronton blew his second save in as many chances Friday, giving up five unearned runs on four hits in the loss to the Rays.

A couple errors opened the door and then Dan Johnson finished it off with a three-run jack. Fantasy owners will be happy that all of Thornton's runs were unearned, but he could officially be on notice now after blowing his first two chances.

Matt Thornton was charged with a blown save Wednesday after giving up a run in the bottom of the ninth against the Royals.

The White Sox scored four times in the top of the ninth to take a 7-6 lead today, but Thornton couldn't nail it down. It wasn't all bad, though, as he did preserve a tie and then pitch a scoreless 10th to extend the game. Chris Sale ended up with the win after working scoreless 11th and 12th innings. Thornton's closer's role is safe, but he still doesn't have a save for the 3-2 White Sox.

Manager Ozzie Guillen confirmed Saturday that Matt Thornton would open the season in the closer's role.

It was becoming pretty obvious. Chris Sale still has to lock down his bullpen spot, and odds are that he won't be a candidate for saves anytime soon. Jesse Crain figures to be the top right-hander in the pen and could get a look in the ninth if Thornton has troubles.