White Sox trade reliever Bummer to Braves for five players, two with local connections
Making his first trade as White Sox general manager late Thursday night, Chris Getz got a big haul from the Braves in exchange for relief pitcher Aaron Bummer.
"Obviously, there are some holes that need to be filled around the diamond and there's some starting pitching that needs to be acquired," Getz said on a Zoom call Friday. "When you look at an Aaron Bummer, a one player for a five-player return, it's an opportunity to plug many holes. When you look at our team, I think we are further away than just a left-handed reliever from where we need to go.
"That was very much a driver in the decision and very happy with the return we were able to get from Atlanta."
In exchange for Bummer, who was 5-5 with a 6.79 ERA in 61 games last season, the Sox acquired right-handed pitchers Mike Soroka and Riley Gowens, left-hander Jared Shuster and infielders Nicky Lopez and Braden Shewmake.
Lopez (Naperville Central High School) and Gowens (Libertyville) are local products.
Soroka is the big name in the trade. Over parts of four seasons with Atlanta, the 26-year-old starter was 17-8 with a 3.32 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 246⅓ innings.
In 2020, Soroka tore his right Achilles tendon and missed most of the next two years. This season Soroka spent most of his time with Class AAA Gwinnett. In 7 games (6 starts) with the Braves, he was 2-2 with a 6.40 ERA.
Soroka finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 after going 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA. The White Sox are in desperate need of starting pitchers and Soroka is an obvious candidate to fill a rotation spot.
"You've got a player that was one of the top pitchers in the game years ago," Getz said. "Unfortunately, he had the Achilles' injury and missed a decent amount of time there. Essentially, (2023) was his first full season back from having a multiple-year layoff. There were certainly some moments and flashes of what Soroka was earlier in his career.
"Navigating a season like that after being off, certainly it can be tricky. But to have that under his belt, learning where his body is now, I think there is some upside there. He's pitched really meaningful games for the Atlanta Braves."
The Sox also need better defensive players and Lopez helps that cause.
Since the start of the 2020 season, the second baseman/shortstop is tied for 10th in MLB with 31 outs about average, according to FanGraphs.
Over five seasons with the Royals and Braves, the 28-year-old Lopez hit .249/.312/.319 with 6 home runs and 131 RBI in 546 games.
Lopez finished fifth in the 2021 AL batting title race with a .300 average.
"Nicky can certainly provide improved defense and that's certainly something we've set out to do," Getz said. "You look at his defensive ratings or any sort of evaluation, it's strong."
Gowens made his professional debut last season and was 1-1 with a 1.15 ERA 5 games (3 starts) between the Rookie League Braves and class A Augusta. The 24-year-old starter played college baseball at Illinois and Atlanta drafted Gowens on the ninth round last summer.
"There are some attributes in his pitching repertoire we felt like we could work with and potentially turn him into something," Getz said.
Shuster, 25, split the 2023 season between Atlanta and Gwinnett. He was 4-3 with a 5.81 ERA in 11 starts with the Braves.
Shewmake, 26, spent most of the 2023 season with Gwinnett, hitting .234 with 16 home runs and 69 RBI in 122 games.