The Kansas City Royals have confirmed that they have completed a trade with the San Diego Padres. The deal, completed a week before Major League Baseball’s deadline, will see Padres Brandon Maurer, Trevor Cahill, and Ryan Buchter sent to Kansas City in exchange for Travis Wood, Matt Strahm, and Esteury Ruiz.
Royals have acquired Brandon Maurer, Trevor Cahill, Ryan Buchter from SD for Wood, Strahm, infielder Esteury Ruiz, club confirms.
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) July 24, 2017
Wood has been inconsistent this season, struggling as a starter and at times struggling as a reliever as well. His ERA stands at 6.91, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is an underwhelming 1.45. He is under team control for the next two seasons, and is owed a guaranteed $8 million. Ruiz is an 18-year-old middle infielder from the Dominican Republic who has excelled offensively with a 1.219 OPS in 21 games, albeit for the Arizona Royals, a rookie squad at the bottom rung of the minor league ladder.
Strahm is the centerpiece of the deal, and will be most sorely missed by the Royals. Strahm lit up the radar gun in addition to scorching batters in his MLB debut last year, excelling as a reliever. Strahm was consistently ranked as one of the top three Royals prospects coming into this season, and has both started and relieved this season. The 25-year-old will miss the rest of the season with a patellar tendon tear.
The Royals have been seeking pitching, and this trade with the Padres certainly brings that. Trevor Cahill is a 29-year-old righty starter with a career 4.03 ERA, and he’s having some success this year with his 3.69 ERA. He is a free agent at the end of this year, but until then will plug easily into the Royals rotation.
Along with Cahill comes Brandon Maurer, a 26-year-old right handed reliever who has struck out nine battesr per nine inning sover the last two seasons, and 30-year-old Buchter, who has struck out 11 batters per nine innings in his short career. Maurer and Buchter will become free agents in 2020 and 2022, respectively.