The redemption of Joakim Soria

Joakim Soria never had any doubts in his ability.

As strong as his career started – he had 160 saves in his first five seasons in the big leagues – the last two seasons seemed to show the signs of an aging veteran. The Monclova, Mexico native had 14 blown saves in 2016 and 2017, costing him the closer job in Kansas City.

The Royals traded him to the White Sox as part of a three-team trade before the 2018 season. Chicago showed confidence in him and put him in a familiar role to start the season.

“(The White Sox) gave me the opportunity to close games, which is one of the things I’ve done all my career,” the 34-year-old Soria told La Vida Baseball in Milwaukee. “That gave me confidence. I evolved [making] some changes in my mechanics.”

Soria paid back the White Sox faith in him, picking up 16 saves for Chicago. It marked his highest total since 2015 but he was cognizant of the White Sox situation.

Chicago was rebuilding and traded away some significant pieces of their core in the second year of a rebuild. Soria knew he was never going to be a long-term answer in the White Sox bullpen.

But with his improved play, he had the potential to be a short-team solution for a contender.

Moving Up

On July 26, the White Sox traded Soria 90 miles up Interstate 94 to Milwaukee, a team that was in the thick of a playoff chase.

“I think (the White Sox) had it in their minds to make a trade,” Soria said. “I give thanks to them because they let me be with them for half a year and that’s part of the business.”

He became a crucial part of the Milwaukee bullpen, arguably one of the best relief corps in MLB. Even though he isn’t the team’s closer, Brewers’ manager Craig Counsell has shown faith in using him in high-leverage situations.

In a one-game tiebreaker for the NL Central title against the Chicago Cubs, Counsell brought Soria out of the bullpen in the bottom of the sixth in a 1-1 game with runners on first and second and MVP-candidate Javy Báez up to bat.

“I’ve gone through many pressure situations, that’s what gives you experience,” Soria said. “[The Cubs] were in a pressure moment; they were attacking. I had to shut them down there.”

Soria relished the opportunity. He worked a full count and went after Báez with a fastball high in the zone, seemingly a bread-and-butter-type pitch for Báez.

Soria struck out the MVP candidate swinging.

“That was by design,” Soria said. “Javy is an extremely aggressive swinger, so I expected to throw a pitch high in the zone. It was (a) 3-2 (count), I had to throw a strike, so it had to be high to get a fly ball or a strikeout.”

That strikeout kept the game tied and the Brewers scored two in the eighth inning to win the NL Central.

“Javy is a tremendous batter. But in that moment, I came out on top in that at-bat,” Soria said. “That was important for the team to shut them down and the team to come out and get some runs.”

Crucial Bullpen Arm

In Game 1 of the NL Division Series, Counsell again went to Soria.

This time he emerged from the home bullpen in the tenth inning of a 2-2 ball game. Soria rose to the moment again, striking out Carlos González and pitching a 1-2-3 inning.

The Brewers scored in the bottom half of the inning in walk-off fashion, giving Soria the first postseason win of his career.

“It’s really beautiful to win a game in the playoffs, especially on this team that is competing and has a lot of potential,” Soria said. “We hope this isn’t the last (win) and that I can help them win in any way possible.”

And Soria, who began the year on a team that was expected to lose is finishing the season on a team that has lofty expectations.

“We’re really united and believe we can get to the World Series,” Soria said. “Sometimes, there’s trades and this time I got a chance to be in the playoffs.

“Obviously, the rest is history.”

Featured Image: Dylan Buell / Getty Images Sport