On Thursday, the White Sox did just that in sending Soria to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor league pitcher Kodi Medeiros and Wilber Perez. It’s not the kind of needle-moving trade that turns the White Sox already booming farm system into something more formidable. Neither Medeiros nor Perez are “can’t miss” prospects, or they wouldn’t be available for a 34-year-old reliever. But it’s a very clear “cashing in” of an asset who was destined to be traded all along.

Medeiros is a 22-year-old former first round pick (12th overall in 2014) who, while he has been working as a starter primarily, is almost certainly a reliever. The type of reliever he ultimately becomes is reliant on him harnessing his command, something that’s eluded him frequently during his four-plus seasons as a professional. From the 2018 BP Annual:

Medeiros possesses many major-league qualities as a pitcher: He spins a nasty slider, severely suppresses home runs and is a lefty with low-90s velocity. Such a package should give him a high floor as a big-league reliever, with intriguing upside as a late-inning guy if enough clicks. Fairly or not, as an unexpected first-round pick, the story with Medeiros has always been what he lacks. His slight frame and side-armed delivery make it unlikely that he’ll stick as a starter. Moreover, his control often has a “Dick Cheney while hunting” vibe to it. The latter could cause him to stall out in the upper minors—he has never posted an ERA below 4.44 in his professional career—but his positive qualities still should help him give left-handed hitters fits out of the big-league bullpen someday.

The home run suppression is very much true — he’s allowed just 22 in 427 career minor league innings — and he’s posting the best K/BB rate of his career this season at Double-A (2.38), albeit the improvement has been very minute. How the White Sox handle him once he joins the organization is yet to be seen, but whether they continue to give him a shot as a starter or fast-track him to the majors as a reliever, he’s the type of headlining piece worth targeting in exchange for a player who’s not in the long-term plans.

Perez, on the other hand, is a bit of an unknown. The 20-year-old right-hander was an international signing a year ago and has thrown all of 56 innings for the Brewers’ Dominican Summer League team. The White Sox internal scouting reports of Perez are more thorough than that, of course, but he’s the type of lottery ticket that’s worth taking on in a deal like this.

Lead Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

1. James Shields threw seven shutout innings on Wednesday night.  I’m not advocating for Cy Young votes or anything, but he’s sitting at a 4.29 ERA with a 4.27 DRA and 4.43 FIP to match while throwing the 6th most innings in the majors.  It would have been cool if he had managed this in 2016 instead, but I continue to be pleasantly surprised with how he has adjusted to his diminished arsenal, and these results are beyond what I would have predicted for 2018.

2. We’ve pointed out how thin the White Sox had become at outfielder, due to an unambitious Opening Day pool of talent to begin with, which was then severely eroded by injury.  Leury Garcia and Avisail Garcia returned from the disabled list at the same time and the boost to the lineup has been fairly clear.  Leury is hitting .471/.471/.529 in his return to Chicago, meaning his batting average is about 100 points higher than Trayce Thompson’s OPS. Avisail hasn’t walked yet in 2018, but he’s homered in back-to-back games while he tries to get back to 2017 form.  Either way, the offense has clearly benefited from turning 22% of the lineup into competent major league regulars again.

3. The bullpen continues to evolve from a weakness at the start of the season to a strength. Joakim Soria has held opponents to a .114/.262/.114 line in June and is now having as good of a season as he’s had despite his rocky start to the year.  Jace Fry continues to use his starting pitcher’s arsenal in a relief role to great effect.  Xavier Cedeno is doing his Jace Fry impression results-wise, having thrown 8.33 shut out innings since his call up from Charlotte while striking out more than a batter per inning using a crafty lefty arsenal.  These performances have helped the White Sox hold leads a lot better as they fight toward a .500 June, even in the absence of Nate Jones.

4. Eloy Jimenez hit his second home run in Charlotte on Wednesday, improving his line since promotion to .276/.344/.483.  Jimenez remaining in Charlotte after eight games is not an outrage the way, say, Vladimir Guerrero Junior hitting .800 or whatever for three months in Double-A was.  But he has shown no real signs of an adjustment period so to speak now that he’s facing the major league veterans in the International League as a 21-year-old, and there’s every reason to suspect he will start beating the door down to the majors in the coming weeks.

5. With Lucas Giolito turning in his most exciting start of the year over the weekend, looking like he had combined the improvements he made to his secondary pitches from last fall with the resurgent velocity he showed this spring, and Dylan Covey’s string of good starts, Carson Fulmer has been off the radar screen.  That’s just as well, as he continues to struggle at Triple-A. Despite a mediocre 4.46 ERA, Fulmer has walked 28 batters in 38.33 innings since his demotion.  Teams always burn through starters at a terrifying rate in this sport, but with the potential improvements from Covey and Giolito, Michael Kopech, Jordan Stephens, and now Spencer Adams catching him in Triple-A, I’m not sure how much longer you bother with Fulmer in the rotation.

Lead Photo Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Trade them if you can

Joakim Soria has been more or less exactly the pitcher he’s been throughout his career, which is to say he’s been very good. The 34-year-old’s strikeout rate is identical to what it was a year ago, and actually walking his fewest batters per nine since 2014. He’s also allowed just two home runs in his 28 innings of work. Soria has a $10 million team option for next season or a $1 million buyout, and given the seemingly never-ending bullpen help needed by contenders, one would expect the White Sox to fetch something for Soria’s services. Off the top of my head, you could see the Indians, Cubs, Angels, Phillies, Braves, and Cardinals among the teams that could use Soria. Given the fact that a better and younger reliever — Kelvin Herrera — fetched a trio of mid-level prospects, you’d have to imagine the White Sox would get something less than that in return. Still, Soria’s future is not in Chicago, so the best offer Hahn gets between now and July 31 should be fine.

Similarly to Soria, Luis Avilan is a veteran reliever who could add necessary bullpen depth to a contender down the stretch. Of course, Avilan is significantly less valuable given the fact that he’s .. well, not as good of a pitcher. As I mentioned, teams always seem to need bullpen help and they particularly always seem to be in the market for left-handed bullpen help. The White Sox got Casey Gillaspie for Dan Jennings a year ago. That’s nothing special, but if the White Sox get something similar in return for Avilan it wouldn’t be shocking.

Hector Santiago and Xavier Cedeno are two other veterans in the bullpen. I don’t know if we’re going to have another “Every Arm Must Go” bullpen sale again this year, but if there’s a deal to be had for either, I’d expect Hahn to take it. Nate Jones remains a viable option, too, but would need to prove he’s healthy within the next month before that can happen.

Maybe … probably … yes, do it

James Shields hasn’t been the outright albatross this year that he was the last two seasons, but he’s still a below-average starting pitcher, with peripherals that match up fairly well with his 4.59 ERA. Still, the fact that there’s any semblance of a market for the White Sox to trade him is something that would’ve been unheard of at the start of the season. But should they? Yes … probably. Re-litigating the White Sox disastrous acquisition of Shields is neither here nor there, but at this point there’s something to be said for what he’s provided the White Sox both in terms of his un-quantifiable veteran presence and his simple ability to eat innings. Yes, the White Sox have a lot of young pitchers both at the major league level or who will be here fairly soon, but even if you envision a second half rotation that includes Carlos Rodon, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Michael Kopech, and Dylan Covey (yes, really), and even if all of them are performing well, depth is still necessary. Even if it’s just a matter of limiting some of their innings down the stretch, Shields provides value.

All that said, you still trade him. Even if all of that is true, any kind of value you can extract out of Shields in terms of a lottery ticket prospect or something of that sort is probably worth cashing in on over 2-2 1/2 months of his veteran leadership and inning eating. Besides, as far as the latter is concerned you also have Santiago and Chris Volstad around.

YOU WILL PRY HIM FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS

The most obvious asset I’ve yet to mention, of course, is Jose Abreu, who despite a recent slump is still putting together his fifth consecutive stellar season and will undoubtedly be the only White Sox representative at the All-Star Game.

We’ve discussed both the quantifiable and un-quantifiable of Abreu’s presence on the White Sox. From his middle-of-the-order production to his mentorship to some of the young White Sox hitters, Abreu has meant and continues to mean a lot to the team. Yes, he’s 31 and unlikely to remain productive for too much longer, but whose to say he can’t for another 3-4 years? IF (it’s a big if) the White Sox window for contention truly begins opening in 2019, the odds of Abreu still being one of the premiere first basemen in the game remains strong. Ditto 2020. You can project all you want what the White Sox lineup is going to look like once their plethora of prospects start graduating, but there’s no reason Abreu can’t be part of it throughout whatever growing pains those players go through.

Sure, if Hahn were blown away by some impossible to refuse offer from, say, the Colorado Rockies, I would understand his inability to say no. But I think his value both to the present and future of the White Sox is high enough that unless something like that happens, it’s not something they should pursue.

Lead Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

As much as the White Sox promise to be more entertaining, these things are going to happen. As I wrote Thursday, the construction of this bullpen was both admirable and reasonable. For one, the White Sox jettisoned David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Anthony Swarzak, Dan Jennings, and maybe even a few I’m forgetting in a series of trades last summer. For two, given the current window of non-competitiveness, spending more than necessary for a more talented bullpen would be illogical.

What we’re left with is a mixed bag of sorts. Despite Thursday’s events, Jones and Soria represent the two best options, regardless of how they’re deployed. Beyond those two, there’s an assortment of veteran castoffs (Danny Farquhar, Hector Santiago, Luis Avilan), young, unproven talents (Aaron Bummer), and guys trying to prove they belong at the major league level (Greg Infante, Juan Minaya).

There’s enough talent throughout, particularly at the back end, for the White Sox to feign competence more often than not. But it’s not impenetrable, so things like Thursday are going to happen.

2. HAD the White Sox closed out Thursday’s win, the story would have been an impressive offensive performance by an assemblage of less-than-proven regulars. Yolmer Sanchez went 3-for-5 with a pair of triples, Matt Davidson had a rare two-hit performance where neither ball left the premises, and both he and Tim Anderson walked twice. Anderson stole his fourth base of the season, and the Garcias, Avisail and Leury had two hits each.

The weather outside was not ripe for run scoring, and after several dinger-fueled performances to open the season, the White Sox stringing together multiple hits was … different. The competition wasn’t exactly menacing — Jordan Zimmermann was hittable, to say the least. But the likes of Sanchez, Davidson, and Anderson hitting as they have in the season’s opening week is better than them not.

3. Speaking of Zimmermann, Thursday’s pitching matchup between him and James Shields was as unattractive as the weather unless you took a time machine back to 2013. Shields labored kinda sorta around the zone for most of the afternoon, surviving five innings with just three runs allowed. The last batter he faced doubled as the first strikeout he recorded this season, getting James McCann on a knuckle-curve in the dirt.

Every Shields start is going to be an adventure for as long as he sticks around in the rotation — there’s certainly no end coming soon — but for the second straight start he lasted juuuust long enough to give the White Sox a chance. An admirable trait, no doubt.

4. The White Sox offense, as I mentioned, looked good in Thursday’s loss, but that does not apply to Yoan Moncada, who finished 0-for-6 with four strikeouts. (Tigers pitching struck out 12, including an impressive six by Daniel Norris in 3 1/3 innings of relief).

There’s been some consternation about Moncada’s batting line, even just six games in, considering what it looked like in his debut last year. It’s difficult to worry, though, because it’s only been six games and because he continues to look good at the plate, despite the results. Maybe there will be a day down the road where Moncada’s performance will begin to bring pause that he’s not going to become the player the White Sox hope he can be. That day is not today.

5. Zimmermann-Shields is a pitching matchup for masochists, while Saturday’s Michael Fulmer-Lucas Giolito showdown is much more appetizing. The 25-year-old Fulmer has emerged as a reliable starter for the Tigers over the last two starts, and will undoubtedly find his name in trade rumors as the months go by the Detroit falls farther out of the race.

We know about Giolito, of course, but seeing how he bounces back from a subpar debut against the Royals will be worth watching.

Lead Photo Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

1. Fulmer was about as effective as hoped following a precarious spring. He sat 94 with his fastball and consistently threw both his changeup and cutter for strikes. The cutter, in particular, was working from the start. In the first inning, he struck out Justin Smoak on three pitches following his only walk of the game, and ended a first-and-third threat by getting Randall Grichuk chasing on a 2-2 cutter.

In all, he threw 48 of his 73 pitches for strikes, including 12 of 14 changeups and 14 of 16 cutters. Nine of those 26 strikes were of the swinging variety, according to Brooks Baseball, and three of his five strikeouts came swinging.

There was a reason Fulmer only threw 73 pitches, of course, as Rick Renteria had a quick hook following back-to-back hits — a Josh Donaldson single and Smoak double — to lead off the sixth. But, in general, the start was exactly what we saw out of Fulmer at the end of last season, only against real professional hitters instead of the Quad-A rosters of teams 30 games below .500. The stuff has always been there for Fulmer, but his ability to maintain his mechanics and consistently throw strikes both with his fastball and secondary stuff are going to dictate whether or not he’s a starter long-term. It’s one start, but so far, so good.

2. After the Opening Day dinger-fest, I wrote that the White Sox probably aren’t going to lead the majors in home runs. Well … five games in, the White Sox lead the majors with 14 home runs, including Wednesday’s solo shots by Matt Davidson and Jose Abreu, the latter of which proved to be the game winner.

Of course, the aforementioned statement is still true, but there’s no denying the White Sox have been more powerful than one could possible imagine thus far. And it’s not just that the balls are leaving the yard, it’s how they’re leaving. Avisail Garcia’s 481-foot homer Tuesday was the longest by a White Sox hitter in the Statcast era. Yolmer Sanchez — YOLMER SANCHEZ — hit one 442 feet!

Abreu’s power is never going to be a surprise, and when Davidson makes contact and it doesn’t leave the yard, that’s surprising, but even in the current run-scoring environment, the White Sox weren’t particularly dinger-heavy a year ago. The likes of Anderson, Sanchez, and Welington Castillo getting into the act is a welcome sight, for however long it continues.

3. The White Sox bullpen got beat around in Tuesday’s 14-5 loss, but bounced back for four scoreless innings in Wednesday’s win. Sure, Aaron Bummer allowed two inherited runners charged to Fulmer to score, but after he got two outs, the game ended with 3 1/3 hitless frames by Danny Farquhar, Nate Jones, and Joakim Soria.

There’s a lot of volatility in the White Sox bullpen. Bummer and Greg Infante are erratic, and the likes of Farquhar, Soria, and Luis Avilan .. well, there’s a reason the veteran arms were available for very little. Still, after last year’s reliever clearing sale, the fact that the White Sox have any semblance of competence in the middle innings without breaking the bank is pretty impressive.

A team, whether it’s rebuilding or not, could do a lot worse than the Jones-Soria duo in the eighth and ninth innings, and while it’s yet to be determined how the rest will shake out, there’s a lot of upside in the eclectic mix of veterans and guys trying to prove themselves as major league relievers.

4. Oh yeah, back to the play. While it was refreshing to see replay work in what appeared to be correct fashion, and it obviously played out in the White Sox factor, the overturn also overshadowed what was a horrendous play on the basepaths by Castillo. With the bases loaded and one out, the leaping, falling-to-the-ground, initially-called-a catch by Curtis Granderson somehow didn’t turn into a run at first as Castillo didn’t tag up and attempt to score.

It was what amounted to a brain fart that didn’t have an affect on the game’s outcome, but baserunning woes have plagued the White Sox for some time now. Last year, they made 58 outs on the basepaths (doesn’t include pickoffs or caught stealing), which, while not among the worst in the league, was still worse than league average. This year that number is already at four through five games, and doesn’t include blips like Castillo’s.

The flip side of this, of course, is that aggressiveness can beget more runs if executed wisely. Last year, the White Sox were almost exactly average according to BP’s baserunning runs stat, ranking 14th in baseball at -0.1. Stats this year are, of course, far from stabilizing, but it’s maybe worth noting that they’ve taken the extra base on a league-high 67 percent of opportunities through this minuscule sample size after ranking slightly below average in the category a year ago.

There are a lot of noise in these stats, so take them with a grain of salt, but seeing how the White Sox balance aggressiveness with smart baserunning will be something worth watching throughout the season.

5. The White Sox home opener is today, weather pending, with James Shields making his second start of the season against Detroit and Jordan Zimmermann. There will be festivities — including A.J. Pierzynski throwing out the ceremonial first pitch — weather pending.

The Tigers have looked as bad as every expected them to be through five games, going 1-4 against the Pirates and Royals. The White Sox get to play them 19 times this season, so if they have any interest in staying competitive later into the season than anticipated, beating up on this team would be a good way to do so.

Lead Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

General manager Rick Hahn said Sunday that the injury is such that Adolfo will still be able to hit, and he’s likely headed to Winston-Salem at the start of the season to serve as the team’s designated hitter. While Adolfo is still a long way from the majors, his ability to not lose a year of developmental time as a hitter is important as he’ll be further tested at High-A, a level he’s yet to see.

2. It’s easy to root for Hector Santiago. A 30th round pick in 2006 who came out of nowhere to become a legit mid-rotation contributor, he quickly became a fan favorite before being traded after the 2013 season in a deal that brought Adam Eaton to Chicago. Reports of his offseason efforts in Puerto Rico speak even more to what kind of person he is, and after being brought back to the White Sox earlier this month on a minor league deal, he’s looking to regain the form that say him make the All-Star team in 2015 before injuries and ineffectiveness plagued his last two seasons.

His spring debut on Saturday was nothing remarkable — five hits allowed and one strikeout in two innings of work — but he reportedly flashed higher velocity when working out of jams.

“I’m trying to work on stuff, I’m trying to throw some two-seamers in to lefties and work on arm-side fastballs but I got in a little jam right there and reared back and found a little extra,” Santiago said. “It’s in there, it’s just a matter of trying to get work done and not overdo it too early. We still have a lot of games and innings to throw. Save some but when you need to rear back and get something it’s back there.”

Santiago’s ability to work both as a starter and a reliever, as well as the White Sox lack of pitching depth, make him a good bet to contribute at some point in 2018. Two rough years brought him to the point of accepting a minor league deal, and the odds are stacked against him regaining his previous form, but if a return to health helps bring his velocity back up to speed and he starts missing bats again, he’ll be a surprising and welcome addition.

3. On the subject of veteran pitchers trying to regain previous form, Joakim Soria and his 203 career saves is likely to have a role in the back of the White Sox bullpen, although it’s yet to be determined if it will be as a closer or not.

It’s been eight years since Soria was a fire-breathing dragon anchoring the Royals’ bullpen, but he was effective last season, striking out more than 10 batters per nine and allowing just one home run in 56 innings with Kansas City.  At 33 years old and with Tommy John surgery in his past, one would assume keeping him on the field is the main obstacle toward him being an asset in the bullpen (and maybe at the trade deadline).

4. Michael Kopech will make his first spring appearance Monday when he gets the start against the Oakland Athletics. The White Sox No. 2 prospect and No. 17 on BP’s Top 101 has said he wants to make things difficult for the White Sox, in terms of being promoted to the majors, and this spring the main focus has been on his developing changeup.

“The changeup has been a work in progress for the past couple of years,” Kopech said, “and that seems to be where everyone’s focus is. I came to camp early and started working on it right away, and feel I’ve made long strides just in the past couple of weeks.

“It’s a grip I’ve played around with the last two or three years trying to figure it out. It’s just getting comfortable with it. I think I’ve finally found one.”

As I mentioned Friday, one of the neat things to focus on during an often monotonous spring training is finding out what players are working on and seeing how well they execute. One would imagine we’ll see a hefty supply of changeups out of Kopech on Monday.

5. For those interested in such things, some prospect stats from the White Sox three games over the weekend:

Jake Burger went 1-for-2 with a stand-up triple on Saturday, he was 0-for-3 combined in Friday’s and Sunday’s games.

Luis Robert appeared both Saturday and Sunday and is 0-for-3.

Zack Collins went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a strikeout on Sunday after going 0-for-1 with a strikeout on Saturday.

Eloy Jimenez has seen one plate appearance (Friday) and struck out.

Jordan Guerrero started on Sunday and went 2 IP. He allowed 4 ER, 1 BB, and had 1 K.

Dane Dunning had 1 K, 1 BB, and allowed 1 ER in 1 2/3 innings on Saturday.

Thyago Viera got roughed up for 2 ER on 3 hits in 2/3 of an inning on Friday.

Lead Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

After the “All Relievers Must Go” mega sale last season, as well as the non-tendering of Zach Putnam and Jake Petricka earlier in the winter, it was obvious the White Sox were going to need to bring in some relief help because even during another season where contention is not anticipated, it turns out guys still need to eat innings. The White Sox reliever depth chart on MLB.com prior to the trade included a top seven bullpen of Nate Jones, Juan Minaya, Gregory Infante, Aaron Bummer, Danny Farquhar, Jace Fry, and Thyago Vieira. Reinforcements were necessary.

Soria is the name you’re likely most familiar with from his dominant stint with Kansas City a decade ago. From 2007-2010 he tossed 255 innings, posting a K/9 of 9.9 and a 2.01 ERA. He missed the 2011 season with Tommy John surgery and subsequently bounced around from Texas to Detroit to Pittsburgh over the next few years before landing back with the Royals the last two seasons, where he wasn’t great in 2016 before rebounding for a solid 2017. Now 33 years old, he’s coming off a season where he struck out his most batters per nine since 2014 with a cFIP (78) that suggests he was much better than his 3.70 ERA would indicate. One would expect Soria to be in the mix with both Jones and Minaya for late-inning work in 2018.

Avilan is a 28-year-old lefty who misses both bats and the plate at a high rate. After coming to the Dodgers from Atlanta during the 2016 he saw a huge jump in both his BB/9 (2.5 to 4.6) and K/9 (8.3 to 12.8). He was solid in a limited role for the Dodgers last season, striking out 52 in 46 innings of work with a 2.93 ERA and a complementary DRA of 3.19. He was left off the Dodgers’ playoff roster after suffering from left shoulder inflammation toward the end of the season. With the unproven Bummer and Fry the only lefty relievers on the White Sox 40-man roster, he’s a reasonable option there.

The player the White Sox sent away in exchange for bullpen depth, Peter, was the subject of much discussion when they decided to leave him off the 40-man roster and thus, unprotected heading into the Rule 5 draft earlier this winter, where he was not selected. Peter was among the “Next 10″ in BP’s Top 10 White Sox Prospects list released earlier this offseason, with our prospect team saying about him:

Peter spent another year bouncing between Double-A and Triple-A, playing all over the diamond, and basically having the Jake Peter season. In a bit of a twist though, he socked nine home runs in 45 International League games after hitting just eleven total in his first three professional seasons. This may be a sample size blip of course—and Peter’s profile has always been more “scrappy utility type” than “future Brian Dozier”—but even if that is the case, he’s pretty much major league ready and a reasonable bench upgrade for a team that gave an awful lot of at-bats to Tyler Saladino and Alen Hanson last season. And hey, Brian Dozier’s profile was never “future Brian Dozier” either.

The path to playing time was hard to envision for Peter in Chicago. As a utility infielder who’s best position is second base, the existence of Yoan Moncada, not to mention Yolmer Sanchez, Leury Garcia, and the players mentioned above, there was no readily-available playing time for a player who is nearly 25.

Peter may turn into an adequate major league contributor, but given the blockade of middle infielders ahead of him, not to mention the fact that no team was willing to take a shot on him in the Rule 5, he’s a reasonably subtraction in a deal that nets the White Sox a pair of plus relievers and some cash to boot.

Lead Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports