Kansas City Royals: Trade with Nationals leaves something to be desired
The Kansas City Royals traded their would-be All-Star closer Kelvin Herrera on Monday and the prospects they got in return are a bit disappointing.
Kansas City Royals fans knew that Kelvin Herrera would be traded this season. It was inevitable with the team only winning 22 games as of June 18th and looking downright awful. The trade finally took place on Monday when the Washington Nationals came calling.
In return, the Royals received three minor league prospects, all under the age of 23. Those three Nationals prospects headed to the Royals farm system are Blake Perkins, Kelvin Gutierrez, and Yohanse Morel.
The disappointing part is that none of these guys were highly touted prospects. Sure they’re talented, but they’re not the typical minor leaguers a team would request in a trade. That’s what makes this weird. Most teams go after at least one top prospect in a farm system.
This is a total trust-the-scouts trade for Kansas City -- and completely on-brand with how Dayton Moore runs the organization. None of the three minor leaguers the Royals acquired are high on prospect lists. Club is banking on evaluators' judgments more than public perception.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 19, 2018
My guess when seeing who the Royals acquired in this trade was that they were worried about Kelvin Herrera’s last few outings and decided to jump on a deal quickly. Herrera hadn’t looked as sharp recently, but the Royals really jumped on a trade sooner than most of us expected and perhaps that’s why they didn’t bring in the haul fans had anticipated.
More from Kansas City Royals
- This Plus-Money Bobby Witt Jr. Prop Bet is on Fire (Hit in 15/21 Games)!
- The Royals Need to Extend Bobby Witt Jr. Immediately
- DraftKings + FanDuel Kansas Promos: INSTANT $150 Bonus Plus Two Chances to Win!
- 3 Royals Players Who Won’t Be on the Roster Next Year
- LAST CHANCE to Claim $250 GUARANTEED Bonus With FanDuel and DraftKings Kansas Promos!
In 2016 when the Cubs were only missing a legitimate closer, they gave up quite the haul to obtain Aroldis Chapman. That package included four players, three being young prospects. Herrera isn’t 2016 Chapman, no, but Royals fans were expecting a pretty hefty package for their dominant closer.
The good news, however, is that prospects can turn into anything. If even one of these guys turns into a solid player, then it’s a good trade. Herrera is going to be a free agent at the end of the season anyway, so getting three prospects for him is better than just letting him walk in free agency.
Looking at the prospects, Blake Perkins is a 21-year old outfielder who the Nationals took in the second round in 2015. He was batting just .234 in the Carolina League with 252 at bats.
Kelvin Gutierrez is 23 years old and batting .274 in Double-A. He’s played mostly at third base this year for the Harrisburg Senators, but also saw some time at shortstop and as the designated hitter. Perhaps Gutierrez will be the future third baseman in the next year or two.
Lastly, the Royals acquired Yohanse Morel, a 17-year old right-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic. He has an ERA over eight in the Dominican Summer League, but again… He’s just 17 years old. It’ll take him some time to find his command and he likely won’t be contributing until many years down the road.
When push comes to shove, we don’t know much about these three prospects other than their stats. We don’t know how they’ll be as major league ball players, but we all figured with how electric Kelvin Herrera was this year, that the Royals would get a much bigger haul.
The Kansas City Royals did the right thing in trading Herrera, but it’s hard not to think about how much more they could have gotten had they waited just another week or two. Teams desperate for a legitimate closer have given up a ton in the past, but we might be entering a new era where rentals aren’t worth as much anymore.
What do you think about this trade, Royals fans?