On a Monday last month, Royals general manager Dayton Moore sat inside a hotel suite at Walt Disney World and promised to restock his club's farm system. He would listen to any deal that would expedite the process, he said. His focus was squarely on the future.
On Thursday, the Royals executed a three-team trade that sent relievers Joakim Soria to the Chicago White Sox and Scott Alexander to the Los Angeles Dodgers and returned right-handed pitcher Trevor Oaks and switch-hitting infielder Erick Mejia from the Dodgers. The trade also sent Dodgers pitcher Luis Avilan to the Chicago White Sox, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Soria, 33, was due $10 million in 2018. The Royals will only have to pay his $1 million buyout, saving $9 million in salary. He struggled in two seasons after returning to the team in 2016, posting a career-high in walks and a 4.05 ERA and he was 4-3 with a 3.70 ERA in 2017.
Alexander, 28, posted a 2.48 ERA in 69 innings in 2017, transforming himself into a formidable weapon in the Royals' bullpen. Once a sixth-round pick from Sonoma State in 2010, and once dogged by a battle with diabetes in 2016, he finished the season as one of the most valuable trade chips on the Kansas City roster.
A dynamic sinkerballer, Alexander led all major-league relievers in ground-ball percentage in his first full season. Yet it was the combination of his performance and his contract status that turned Alexander into a wanted asset. After debuting in 2015 and appearing in just 79 games across the last three seasons, Alexander will not become a free agent until after the 2022.
Oaks, 24, was 4-3 with a 3.64 ERA in 15 starts for Class AAA Oklahoma City. He was a seventh-round pick by the Dodgers in 2014. Mejia, 23, spent a majority of last season at Class AA Tulsa hitting .289 with 17 doubles, three triples, seven homers and 25 steals in 29 attempts.
The Royals have 39 players on their 40-man roster after the trade.
