White Sox Get: White Sox Get: Joakim Soria (4-3, 3.70 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 64/20 K/BB, 2018 Age: 33-34) and $1 million from the Royals and Luis Avilan (2-3, 2.93 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 52/22 K/BB, 2018 Age: 28-29) and $2 million from the Dodgers
Dodgers Get: Scott Alexander (5-4, 2.48 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 59/38 K/BB, 2018 Age: 28-29) from the Royals and minor leaguer Jake Peter (13 HR, .279/.344/.417, 11 SB, 118 wRC+ at AA and AAA, 2018 Age: 25) from the White Sox
Royals Get: Minor leaguers Trevor Oaks (4-3, 3.83 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 81/19 K/BB at AZL, Rookie, and AAA, 2018 Age: 25) and Erick Mejia (8 HR, .278/.344/.397, 28 SB, 108 wRC+ at High Class A, AA, and AAA, 2018 Age: 23) from the Dodgers
Three team trades are usually a mouthful, and this one is no different. The White Sox got the most in terms of major league-ready talent, prying a reliever each from the Royals and Dodgers. They aren't quite ready to contend, but their bullpen was something of a barren wasteland before the trade and additions were absolutely necessary. As it was, it would have been led by Nate Jones (2.31 ERA, 1.29 WHIP in limited action), Danny Farquhar (4.20 ERA, 1.36 WHIP), Gregory Infante (3.13 ERA, 1.19 WHIP), and Juan Minaya (4.53 ERA, 1.33 WHIP), the former two of which are often injured and the latter two of which are completely unproven outside of solid rookie seasons last year. Joakim Soria, coming from Kansas City, has a pretty recognizable name at this point, as he was a star reliever for the Royals from 2007-2010 before falling more to the middle of the pack this decade. This past season with the Royals, he made 59 appearances and posted a 3.70 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and a 64/20 strikeout to walk ratio in 56 innings, still very good numbers for a pitcher in his mid-30's. He was a little better against right handed hitters (.203/.293/.231 opponents' slash line) than against left handed hitters (.269/.313/.366), but he clearly was very effective at both and will be a valuable asset for the White Sox. He's due to make $9 million in 2018, a fairly hefty sum for a non-elite reliever, but the Royals did send $1 million along with him to partially offset it. For his career, he is 28-31 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP over 573 appearances. From the Dodgers comes left handed specialist Luis Avilan, who battled some control issues in 2017 but put up a very respectable 2.93 ERA and 1.39 WHIP over 61 appearances, striking out 52 and walking 22 in 46 innings. His splits were a bit steeper than Soria's, as he dominated left handed hitters (.195/.290/.280) but was knocked around by righties (.292/.376/.449). He obviously won't be as flexible as Soria, but his effectiveness against left handers will be valuable when the situations come along. Turning 29 in July, he's much younger than Soria, who turns 34 in May, and he also comes with two years left on his contract, which figures to rise from $1.5 million through arbitration but not by much. For his career, he is 17-9 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP over 329 appearances.
The Dodgers also come away with a major leaguer, left handed reliever Scott Alexander, who put up a very fine season for the Royals under the radar. In 58 appearances, the 27-28 year old rookie (who did see limited action in 2015 and 2016) put up a 2.48 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP, striking out 59 and walking 28 in 69 innings. He doesn't throw all that hard, but he generates ground balls at a ridiculous rate (73.8% in 2017), in fact the highest rate of any pitcher who threw more than one (1!) inning in 2017. That exceptional ground ball rate is more of a bonus than a necessity in pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium, you can bet he'll get the ball plenty of times when the Dodgers play road games in hitters' havens Coors Field and Chase Field. Despite being left handed, Alexander did manage to be slightly more effective against right handed hitters (.240/.313/.317) than against left handed hitters (.250/.333/.347), which doesn't mean much with the numbers so close but does mean he's useful against both lefties and righties. For his career, he is 5-4 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP over 79 appearances. The Dodgers also picked up AAA infielder Jake Peter from the White Sox, who could be useful as a utility man this season. Peter was drafted in the seventh round out of Creighton in 2014, working his way to the upper minors by 2016. Starting with AA Birmingham in 2017, Peter hit four home runs and slashed .270/.340/.361 over 75 games, stealing nine bases and earning a promotion to AAA Charlotte. There, he was even better, hitting nine home runs and slashing .292/.351/.506 with two stolen bases in 45 games. He'll turn 25 at the start of the 2018 season and likely isn't LA's long term answer at second base, but he can fill a Charlie Culberson-type role and spell the starters in the field.
Lastly, the Royals picked up a pair of prospects for Soria and Alexander. Trevor Oaks, coming from the Dodgers, missed part of the season with oblique troubles, but was effective when healthy. Aside from his three rehab starts in the low minors, Oaks spent the whole season with AAA Oklahoma City, going 4-3 with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP over 16 games (15 starts), striking out 72 and walking 18 in 84 innings. Like Scott Alexander, he gets a lot of ground balls, inducing them at a 50.8% rate in AAA this year, still a high rate despite being a career low in the category. Lacking a true out pitch, he fills the zone with strikes, and could be a back-end starter in Kansas City. Drafted in the same seventh round of the 2014 draft as Jake Peter, the righty out of California Baptist will be 25 at the start of the season. Erick Mejia split the season bouncing between High Class A Rancho Cucamonga and AA Tulsa, and while he didn't hit too well in High A (1 HR, .230/.292/.333 in 24 games), he took really well to AA, hitting seven home runs and slashing .289/.357/.413 with 25 stolen bases over 102 games, showcasing both speed and a little bit of power. His 78/37 strikeout to walk ratio wasn't great but wasn't terrible either, and the 23 year old shortstop could be a productive major leaguer, likely more as a utility man than as a starter, but he's one to watch.
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