What Eduardo Herrera can provide the Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals traded for Eduardo Herrera over the weekend. What can the pitcher provide the boys in blue? 

A trade was made by the Kansas City Royals this weekend and it involved shipping outfielder Nick Heath to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Eduardo Herrera.

Herrera was originally a catcher but shifted to the infield for a bit before pitching full-time. In 2019, Herrera pitched for two minor league squads and averaged an ERA of 4.56 with a 1.26 WHIP through 22 games. During his three appearances in rookie ball, Herrera pitched 3.2 scoreless innings.

Yes, this trade meant that Heath was sent to Arizona, but that’s a move that the Royals could honestly afford to make. Heath wasn’t contributing in Kansas City like the team hoped he would be at this point and with him being 27 years old, this isn’t a big loss. The team had also designated him for assignment last Wednesday. The Royals have plenty of outfield depth, especially with Kyle Isbel looking decent early onto his MLB career.

Eduardo Herrera is a developmental prospect for the Kansas City Royals.

Herrera is only 21 years old (he was born in January 2000 – Feel old yet?) and it’ll probably be a few years before Royals fans see him in the big leagues. He was the No. 37 ranked prospect in Arizona’s farm system per Fangraphs and probably will fall in a similar spot in the Royals’ farm system once it’s updated to include him.

This is a trade that isn’t going to excite anyone, but it’s not a bad move by any means. The Royals traded a 27-year-old outfielder that they had to keep in the minors for a 21-year-old relief pitcher who could potentially have nasty stuff on the mound. It’ll take some time to get to that point, but for now, it’s really hard to be angry about this trade.

Heath is getting to play for the Diamondbacks, which isn’t something that would have happened for the Royals, as they have plenty of outfielders right now. Heath did appear in 15 games last year and hit just .154, but also swiped three bags in limited action.

We won’t know the winner of this trade until Herrera gets to Kansas City (or gets the team some other prospects in the future), but for now, let it play out.