The White Sox traded Aaron Bummer late on Thursday night, receiving five players in return from the Atlanta Braves. Two of the players happen to be from Illinois.
Nicky Lopez, 28, was born and raised in Naperville, Ill., and attended Naperville Central High School. He attended Creighton University, the school the Kansas City Royals drafted him out of in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB entry draft.
He debuted with the Royals in 2019. There, he played 4.5 seasons and 519 games. He hit .248 from the plate with five home runs and 119 RBIs.
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This past July, he was traded to the Braves.
Riley Gowens, 24, was born in Libertyville, Ill. He remained in Illinois through college, attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Braves drafted him in the ninth round of the 2023 MLB entry draft. He's pitched predominantly in the Braves' minor league system.
Along with the two Illinois natives, the White Sox also acquired Mike Soroka, Jared Shuster and Braden Shewmake for Bummer. The trade marks Getz's first as the general manager of the White Sox.
"I think this is a foundational move for us and look forward to adding to what we just acquired," Getz said following the day of the trade.
