The Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox have completed a multi-player deal which will see left handed relief pitcher Aaron Bummer head to Atlanta for a package of 5 players.
The deal, which was completed late Thursday evening, will see RHP Michael Soroka, LHP Jared Shuster, SS Braden Shewmake, INF Nicky Lopez, and RHP Riley Gowens going back to the Windy City.
Bummer is coming off arguably one of the worst statistical seasons of his career. However some of that can be attributed to the White Sox poor defense, and a rebuilding roster in 2023. The 30-year-old posted the worst ERA and WAR of his 7 year career, while also giving up the most hits, earned runs, and walks as well. Despite that, he still managed to strike out 78 batters across 58.1IP and induced ground balls 58.2% of the time, which was encouraging enough for Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos to pull the trigger to acquire the veteran reliever.
Bummer is under contract for $5.5M in 2024, with club options of $7.25M in 2025 and $7.5M in 2026. He’ll now join a loaded Braves bullpen on a team with viable championship aspirations.
On the Chicago side of things, new GM Chris Getz acquires a bevy of players who can restore some depth to the White Sox’s lineup after becoming sellers at the this past season’s MLB trade deadline.
Soroka, 26, was a candidate to be let go at Friday’s non-tender deadline, so Atlanta did well to recoup an asset there. However all things being equal, Chicago has to feel good about the haul they brought in for Bummer.
Soroka is a former NL All-Star and has shown flashes of brilliance. Were it not for a slew of injuries, he’d likely be a focal point of the Braves rotation at the moment. Shuster, 25, is a former first round pick back in 2020, while Shewmake was Atlanta’s first round selection from 2019.
Nicky Lopez is a 5 year veteran who has split time between Kansas City and Atlanta, and can play multiple positions in the infield. Which leaves Gowens, 24, as the only prospect yet to make his MLB debut. Since being drafted, he’s posted a 1.15 ERA with 22Ks in 15.2IP across Low-A and Rookie Ball.
All-in-all, that’s 4 players aged 26 or younger with fairly high ceilings, who could flourish with an increased role in Chicago, plus a plug and play utility infielder for a proven arm who was coming off a down year. While the White Sox still have several roster holes to plug this offseason, their first major move of the Getz era was a step in the right direction.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Ken Lund. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.