BOSTON — Quick, name the five players Chris Getz acquired from the Braves for Aaron Bummer on Nov. 17.
You might have forgotten, but Getz will always remember: It was his first trade as White Sox general manager. And at the time, it appeared he did fine with a “strength in numbers” haul for Bummer, a left-hander with exceptional stuff who has since posted a 3.54 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 15 walks in 47 games for the Braves.
Getz got infielders Nicky Lopez and Braden Shewmake, right-hander Michael Soroka, lefty Jared Shuster and minor-league righty Riley Gowens.
The best of the lot? According to Baseball Reference WAR, it’s Shuster, who, at 0.6 wins above replacement, ranks sixth among Sox players (and pitchers). That’s not saying much when you’re looking at a 109-loss team, but Shuster, a 2020 first-round pick by the Braves who had a 5.61 ERA in 11 starts last season, has been an effective multi-inning reliever with a 4.57 ERA in 34 appearances over 63 innings.
“I’m comfortable with [the role],” Shuster said.
However, pitching coach Ethan Katz indicated it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Shuster is considered for next year’s rotation. It depends on what shakes out during the offseason as Getz pieces together a plan. But if given the opportunity, Shuster is all in.
“There are improvements that need to be made to get through a lineup three times, but if the option was there, I’d be happy to try to be a starter again,” he said. “The goal right now is get to the end of the year healthy and keep improving. Eventually? You never know.”
Shuster has started two games for the Sox after starting 11 for the Braves last season. His slider-changeup-sinker has played fine, with an uptick in velocity to 93 mph. Katz helped Shuster bring it up by smoothing things out in his lower half.
Meanwhile, Soroka (5.23 ERA in 22 games, including nine starts), is on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte, working his way back from a shoulder strain. The 2019 All-Star was already making a comeback from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Shewmake, who made the Opening Day roster but was sent down after batting .125 in 29 games, hit .152 in 10 games at Charlotte before he was shut down with an ankle injury.
Lopez hit his first home run of the season leading off Wednesday’s 8-1 win in Baltimore — which halted a 12-game losing streak — and is batting .241/.313/.299 in 112 games. He and Shuster have been the most useful pieces of the trade. Gowens has a 3.67 ERA in 10 starts, including one run allowed in his last 10 innings, since a promotion to Double-A Birmingham.
The Sox don’t figure to spend big in free agency this offseason, so it will be closely watched how they supplement a rotation that could include Jonathan Cannon, Drew Thorpe and Davis Martin. The other possibilities include lefty Ky Bush and righties Nick Nastrini and Jairo Iriarte, to name a few.
Garrett Crochet will be the 2025 Opening Day starter if he’s not traded, but he figures to go, creating a need for a lefty. The Sox also have two of the highest-rated lefty pitching prospects in Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith at Double-A Birmingham and Advanced-A Winston-Salem, respectively. Each could see major-league time next season.
And there’s always Shuster.
“You look at where we are right now [with two 100-loss seasons in a row],” assistant general manager Josh Barfield said. “Part of that is giving young guys opportunities to come up here and grow, and hopefully when everybody is starting to come into their own, that’s when that window starts to open up.”
NOTES: Right-hander Touki Toussaint, who was designated for assignment, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Charlotte.
• Right-hander Jordan Leasure is starting a rehab assignment Friday with Charlotte.
Cannon’s strong start and homers by Lopez, Fletcher and Vaughn are the keys to their 8-1 victory.
The White Sox are looking to restructure their international department.
The infielder’s struggles “are on us,” interim bench coach Doug Sisson says.
Nick Nastrini walked six, and a collision in left cost him three runs in the Orioles’ 9-0 victory.