Royals acquire Eduardo Herrera from Arizona for Nick Heath

The Royals announced they have acquired right-handed pitcher Eduardo Herrera from the Diamondbacks for outfielder Nick Heath. Heath was designated for assignment earlier this week after Ervin Santana was added to the roster.

Herrera is a 21-year old Venezuelan who originally began his career as catcher, then an infielder. In 2019, he began pitching full time, posting a 4.56 ERA with 38 strikeouts and 17 walks and just 13 hits allowed in 23 2/3 innings in the Arizona Summer League and the Advanced-Rookie Northwest League. Fangraphs ranks him the #37 prospect in the Arizona farm system, writing:

His fastball was 94-97 almost immediately and held that range at 2020 instructs, averaging 94.8 mph. He has erratic command and breaking ball quality, but Herrera is still a notable developmental relief prospect with premium arm strength.

Heath led all minor leaguers in steals in 2019 and appeared in 15 games with the Royals in 2020, going 2-for-13 with two steals in four attempts. The 27-year old Junction City, Kansas native was originally a 16th-round pick by the Royals out of Northwestern State University in Louisiana.