Michael Kopech refutes bad White Sox culture but definitely sounds relieved with Dodgers

For Michael Kopech, the timing of the three-team deal that sent him from the Chicago White Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers could not have been better.

On July 29, the White Sox were 15 games into an eventual 21-game losing streak with a 27-82 record, sitting 38.5 games back in the American League Central Division. The Dodgers, meanwhile, were at 63-44 and had a 6.5-game lead in the National League West while on pace to reach the postseason for the 12th consecutive year.

Regardless of which team he ended up with, it's easy to imagine that Kopech would feel some sense of relief in escaping the clutches of the worst team in baseball at one of the lowest points of the season. However, in an interview with Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, Kopech quickly shut down any assumptions that he was part of a "miserable clubhouse" in Chicago. Rather, he said, the White Sox had grown close to one another by "fighting through some dark times together."

Michael Kopech refutes bad White Sox culture but definitely sounds relieved with Dodgers

While Kopech's defense of the White Sox culture is admirable, it's impossible to deny that he landed in an objectively better situation in Los Angeles. The Dodgers still have a tenuous hold on the top spot in the NL West, and Kopech has the opportunity to lock up the closer role as they get set to embark on what they hope will be a lengthy postseason run.

“Losing is its own feeling altogether," Kopech told DiGiovanna. "You show up every day and hopefully scrap one out, but to continue losing, it’s tough. Here … it seems like everybody meshes together really well. And then to continue that energy after a game when you’re riding a high from a win, it’s, to be cliche, all good vibes here. So it’s pretty cool.”

Since joining the Dodgers, Kopech has given up no runs and one hit in 8 1/3 innings across his first eight appearances, striking out 13 and walking one. On Friday, he recorded his first save for Los Angeles, and in doing so threw a pitch that clocked in at 102.6 mph. The Dodgers routinely trust him in high-leverage situations, and he figures prominently into their plans for the postseason and beyond.

Oh, and the Dodgers are World Series favorites.

The vibes are good, indeed.

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