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The Kansas City Royals have traded closer Kelvin Herrera to the Washington Nationals for three prospects, per reports. The Rangers start a three game set against the Royals tonight.
Herrara, 28, has a 1.05 ERA this season with 22 Ks and 2 walks in 25.2 IP. He’s having a solid bounceback season after putting up a 4.25 ERA and 4.30 FIP in 59.1 IP in 2017. One of the better relievers who was on the market, Herrera is a free agent after the season, and with the Royals mired at the bottom of the standings in the American League, he was widely expected to be dealt.
Going to the Nationals in this deal are infielder Kelvin Gutierrez, outfielder Blake Perkins, and pitcher Yohanse Morel.
Gutierrez, who turns 24 in August, has primarily played third base for the Nationals this year with their AA affiliate. He has a .274/.321/.391 slash line on the season.
Perkins, 21, was a second round pick of the Nationals in 2015. A centerfielder, he has a .234/.344/.290 slash line in high-A this year.
Morel doesn’t turn 18 until August. A righthanded pitcher, Morel was signed last July by the Nationals, and has been pitching in the Dominican Summer League.
Not a huge return for Herrera...Gutierrez and Perkins are #10 and #11 on the Nationals’ top 30 prospect list on MLB Pipeline. If you are a Ranger fan watching the market to see what the expected dealing of some veteran Ranger relievers might bring, this isn’t going to excite you.
This tweet from Jeff Passan seems to sum up the reaction from the national folks:
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