Royals acquire outfielder Brian Goodwin

The Royals have been active on the trade market already this summer, and while many expect them to be sellers at the trade deadline, today they acquired a Major League piece by dealing for outfielder Brian Goodwin of the Washington Nationals. The Royals sent minor league right-handed pitcher Jacob Condra-Bogan to the Nationals.

The 27-year old Goodwin was a first-round pick for the Nationals back in 2011, and was a Baseball America Top 100 prospect before the 2013 season. He struggled initially at higher minor league levels, but made his Major League debut in 2016. Last year was his first full season in the big leagues, and in a part time role with the Nationals he hit .251/.313/.498 with 13 home runs in 278 plate appearances.

Goodwin runs pretty well and has shown improved power in recent years. He had an 11% walk rate in the minors, although it was just 8.3% last year in the big leagues. His defensive metrics last year were underwhelming although he can play all three outfield positions.

Goodwin is out of options, so with a crowded outfield, the Nationals decided to trade him for the hard-throwing Condra-Bogan. The Royals signed Condra-Bogan out of the independent Frontier League last winter, and the 23-year old has a 3.00 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 27 innings across Low-A Lexington and High-A Wilmington. He throws in the mid-90s and can hit 99 on the radar gun.

The Royals seem like the perfect opportunity to get Goodwin some playing time to see if he can be a valuable Major Leaguer. He is not super young, but he does have four more controllable years left after this season, so he could be part of a rebuild, or possibly flipped once he increases his value with playing time. He joins an outfield that already has Alex Gordon and Jorge Bonifacio on the corners, so Goodwin could get time in center, or Gordon could shift back to center.