Royals trade Cam Gallagher to the Padres for outfielder Brent Rooker

The Royals have acquired outfielder Brent Rooker from the San Diego Padres for catcher Cam Gallagher, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic. The 27-year-old Rooker is a right-handed hitter who has appeared in just two games with the Padres this year, but hit .201/.291/.397 with 9 home runs in 58 games with the Twins last year.

Rooker is a right-handed hitter who was originally a first-round pick in 2017 by the Twins out of Mississippi State. In 2018 he was ranked as the #98 prospect in baseball by Baseball America. He put up good power numbers in the minors but has a lot of swing-and-miss to his game, and has struck out in 32.7 percent of his MLB plate appearances.

Cam Gallagher has appeared in parts of the last six seasons with the Royals as a backup catcher. The former second-round pick has hit .240/.302/.355 in 171 career MLB games, but has been reknowned for his defense and framing ability. He was eligible for arbitration for the first time this year, and was expendable with the promotion of MJ Melendez to the big leagues, the return of Salvador Perez from injury, and the emergence of Sebastian Rivero in the minors.