Reality Check

The White Sox traded lefty reliever Aaron Bummer to the Braves Thursday in exchange for five players, the most prominent being oft-injured starter Mike Soroka and good-fielding, light-fielding Nicky Lopez, who hails from nearby Naperville North. Whatever can this mean? Basically, either new GM Chris Getz took Atlanta to the cleaners (I hope so), or the Braves had five guys they didn’t need they could ship off for a pitcher they think they can fix; Bummer amassed a 6.79 ERA this season. Given the teams’ respective records, which do you think is the more likely scenario? When you trade for a starter who’s won two games in the four years since he went 13-4 in 2019, it’s a sign as to how bare your pitching cupboard is. When you talk up someone with a career .249 BA over the course of five seasons—read Getz’s comments on Lopez—and who couldn’t establish himself with the forever rebuilding Royals, ditto on the player side. All I can say is I hope Getz cleared the deal with Brooks Boyer first.