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.