Off the Stove into the Fire

Off the Stove into the Fire

So, one day after I write about White Sox rumors, they go out and trade for two relievers, including veteran Joakim Soria.  Even if Soria flops out of the pen come spring, it should still help.  He has a lifetime 3-2 record against the Sox with a 2.34 ERA and 22 saves.  Sox hitters used to swing and miss at Soria’s fastball.  The last few seasons, they’ve done it against his junk.  If nothing else, then, this will be subtraction through addition.

My only regret is that the Sox gave up Jake Peter, a Triple-A prospect.  They’d left him off the 40-man roster before the winter meetings, so I figured something had to be up.  What’s so big about a 24-year old infielder with a career .283 BA in the minors?  Well, Peter struck me as a grinder whose hitting helped moved him up the ladder and didn’t complain when he had to go back down that ladder.  Peter made it to Triple-A Charlotte in 2016, only to be sent back to Double-A Birmingham last season when the Sox got Yoan Moncada.  Such is the business of baseball.

I also happen to like that Peter went to Creighton and was born in Mason City, Iowa.  Haven’t been to Mason City?  Well, you should, especially if you’re a fan of Prairie architecture.  There’s a Frank Lloyd Wright hotel there and a house along with a subdivision by Walter Burley Griffin, a onetime employee of Wright.  The Prairie School and baseball, it all makes sense to me.  Zachary Taylor Davis, the architect of Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field, adorned Comiskey with some Prairie motifs on the exterior walls.

I’ll be keeping an eye on how Peter does with his new team, the Dodgers.  They’re ranking him as their 30^th best prospect.  That should be good for an invitation to spring training.