Kansas City Royals: Trade with Padres last season could still pay off
When looking back at the 2017 season, one of the “worst memories” was the trade that the Kansas City Royals made with the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline.
That trade saw the Kansas City Royals send Matt Strahm, Travis Wood, and minor leaguer Esteury Ruiz to San Diego in exchange for Ryan Buchter, Trevor Cahill, and Brandon Maurer. At the time, it seemed like a pretty good trade for the Royals.
My older brother is a diehard Padres fan (he also roots for Gonzaga and the Philadelphia Flyers to indicate how random he is with his teams) and he felt like this was a good trade for both teams. Obviously letting Strahm go was concerning, but the Royals got rid of Travis Wood, a nuisance in their bullpen, and acquired three talented pitchers.
With the 2017 season in the rearview mirror, we all know this trade didn’t look so hot after just a few months. Trevor Cahill was an absolute disaster every time he took the mound and ended up throwing in just 23 innings though ten total games (and only three starts). Cahill’s 8.22 ERA was abysmal and he was easily the biggest disappointment in the trade.
Brandon Maurer wasn’t good either, posting an 8.10 ERA in 20 innings of work. Maurer had notched 20 saves before coming to Kansas City, but only had two in a Royals uniform. The hope is that he can possibly be propelled into that closer role this year, but he’ll have to pitch a hell of a lot better than he did in 2017 in order to get to that point.
The last name in the trade was the one who was the least talked about at the time, but the most effective pitcher out of the bullpen, and that was Ryan Buchter. Buchter threw 27 innings and finished the season in Kansas City with an ERA of 2.67.
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Both Buchter and Maurer are controllable, which is what made the deal appealing in the first place. Maurer hits free agency in 2020 and Buchter will do so in 2022. If Maurer can get back to his early 2017 season form and become a reliable closer, this deal will no longer look laughable.
The biggest name to keep an eye on from this deal is Matt Strahm, who was a top prospect in the Royals farm system and had a tremendous 2016 campaign. Strahm struggled out of the gate in 2017, but started to piece it together again before being sent to San Diego.
If Strahm goes on to become a top-tier starting pitcher (or even reliever), then Royals fans will be cringing over this trade for years to come. It would be hard to stomach watching Strahm and a young Padres team do what the Royals did a few years ago with a group of young guys and win a World Series together, especially knowing KC had Strahm.
In the grand scheme of things, KC Royals fans won’t know how to feel about this trade until we see what kind of receivers Ryan Buchter and Brandon Maurer can be for the franchise. Also, if Matt Strahm becomes the next big thing on the mound, that could be a tough pill to swallow for Royals fans.
The trade didn’t look so hot after half a season, but give it time, Royals fans. Buchter and Maurer still have several years to prove their worth. Maybe they’ll turn into something similar to H-D-H from the 2014 and 2015 seasons. We just have to be patient.