The Milwaukee Brewers have added some experience to their bullpen for the second half postseason push.
On Thursday the Brewers acquired veteran righty Joakim Soria from the White Sox for minor-league lefty Kodi Medeiros and minor-league righty Wilber Perez. The trade is official.
Soria, now 34, had 16 saves with 49 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA in 38 2/3 innings for Chicago before the trade. He came over from the Royals in the Scott Alexander three-team trade with the Dodgers over the winter. Last season Soria threw 56 innings with a 3.70 ERA for Kansas City.
The Brewers already have a very good closer in Corey Knebel and a dominant setup man in Josh Hader, so Soria figures to provide bullpen depth rather than take over the eighth or ninth innings. On days Hader is unavailable -- he pitches multiple innings often and thus sits out two or three games thereafter -- Soria can step in to help get the ball to Knebel.
It should be noted Soria is not necessarily a rental. He is owed the remainder of his $9 million this season, and his contract includes a $10 million club option for 2019. The $1 million option buyout makes it a net $9 million decision. Even if the Brewers don't want to retain Soria for 2019, they could pick up the option and trade him given his reasonable salary.
Medeiros, the 12th overall pick in the 2014 draft, has a 3.14 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 103 1/3 Double-A innings this season. MLB.com ranked him as the No. 20 prospect in Milwaukee's farm system before the trade. Here is a snippet of their scouting report:
Getting away from his low-three quarters arm slot in '16 cost Medeiros both velocity and life on his fastball ... His slider remains a plus pitch, one capable of inducing whiffs on both sides of the plate with its significant lateral break, and he'll also flash above average with his changeup, which has good sink and fade.
The 20-year-old Perez is currently pitching in the Dominican Summer League, where he has a 2.01 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings. He did not rank among MLB.com's top 30 Brewers prospects before the trade and it's fair to call him a deep, deep sleeper.
The Brewers come into Thursday with the National League's third best record at 58-46. They are 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central and 1 1/2 games up on a wild card spot. The White Sox, meanwhile, have baseball's third worst record at 36-65. They may not be done selling prior to the July 31 trade deadline.