Late on Thursday night, the Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox made their first big deal of the offseason.
In exchange for righty Michael Soroka, lefty Jared Shuster, infielders Nicky Lopez and Braden Shewmake, and minor-league righty Riley Gowens,
Atlanta obtained lefty reliever Aaron Bummer from the Chicago White Sox. The transaction has been announced by both teams.
Bummer, 30, pitched to a 2.59 ERA from 2019 to 22 and had extremely good underlying metrics, but he had an ugly 6.79 ERA in 58 1/3 innings in 2023.
Bummer has the biggest differential of any pitcher with at least 50 innings worked in 2023 between his ERA and FIP (3.58).
The Braves are placing their money on positive regression and Bummer going back to how he was before 2023.
Although Bummer walks far too many (13.5% compared to the MLB average of 8.6%), he is very good at ground balls, hitting batters off, and restricting weak contact.
That forms a really solid base. Oh, and Bummer is cheap too. With club options for 2025 ($7.25 million) and 2026 ($7.5 million), he is owed $5.5 million in 2024. He is an investment for the long run for the reigning NL East winners.
With Bummer and A.J. Minter, the Braves now have two elite left-handers, and Tyler Matzek, the 2021 postseason hero, should return from Tommy John surgery early in 2024, maybe even in time for Opening Day.
When you are in the same division as players such as Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Brandon Nimmo, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., you need to have quality lefty relievers.
This move gives the White Sox some upside and additional inventory. The most well-known player is Soroka, 26, despite the fact that he missed 2021 and 2022 due to injuries.
In 2023, he pitched 32 1/3 big league innings with an ERA of 6.40. It seemed possible that the former All-Star would be non-tendered before Friday’s deadline because of his estimated salary, which was in the $3 million range. After 2024, he will be a free agent.
The No. 25 pick in the 2020 draft was Shuster, a 25-year-old. In 2023, he made his Major League Baseball debut with the Braves, where he recorded a 5.81 ERA in 52 2/3 innings and a 5.01 ERA in 79 Triple-A innings.
Shuster has a prospect pedigree and was just selected in the first round, but he has taken a step back this season.
The White Sox are taking a chance that Shuster can get back on track and become a valuable piece of their rotation.
