Trade season is here, and the Royals have moved early and aggressively with a move that they hope bolsters their bullpen for a playoff run in the second half.
Kansas City acquired right-handed reliever Hunter Harvey from the Nationals on Saturday night, in return sending third baseman Cayden Wallace, their No. 2 prospect on MLB Pipeline, along with their Competitive Balance A pick (No. 39 overall) in Sunday night’s MLB Draft.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Harvey, the Royals designated reliever Nick Anderson for assignment.
TRADE DETAILS
Royals acquire: RHP Hunter Harvey
Nationals acquire: Minor League 3B Cayden Wallace (KC No. 2 prospect); Competitive Balance A pick in the 2024 Draft (No. 39 overall)
“It’s no secret we were trying to upgrade our bullpen and to get some depth in the back end of the bullpen,” general manager J.J. Picollo said on Saturday night. “Hunter Harvey is a guy we’ve admired for a number of years. … I’d like to think we have a better bullpen today than we had earlier [Saturday] going into the game, and we’re excited to get Hunter in a Royals uniform.”
Harvey, 29, has appeared in 43 games for the Nationals this season, posting a 4.20 ERA and 3.17 FIP across 45 innings with a 26.3% strikeout rate (50 strikeouts) and just 12 walks for a 6.3% walk rate. He has earned a career-high 26 holds this season, tied with Cardinals reliever JoJo Romero for the Major League lead.
Harvey posted a 2.82 ERA last season, recording 10 saves and 19 holds for the Nationals. Since 2022 with the Nationals, Harvey has a 27.8% strikeout rate and a 6.4% walk rate.
The Royals have been searching for a power arm and more strike-throwing in the bullpen, which ranks 21st in baseball with a 4.26 ERA.
Harvey, with his 98 mph fastball, fits the profile.
“He adds great depth,” Picollo said. “It’s not something where we’re going to say, ‘He’s our closer,’ starting tomorrow. That’s not the case. Our goal all along was to have a deeper bullpen. [James McArthur] has done a great job in the ninth inning here over the last few weeks, and we’re happy with what he’s doing. … The depth was the focus for us and having more options at the back end of the game.”
Harvey’s also not a free agent until 2026, giving the Royals a full season of control following this year. That was something the Royals were adamant about acquiring, especially if they had to give up top prospects.
Wallace, 22, was the Royals’ second-round pick in 2022 out of Arkansas and has been in Double-A Northwest Arkansas this year, although he has missed a good chunk of the season, first with an oblique strain and now a rib fracture, which he suffered while on a rehab assignment for his oblique. He has a career .265/.342/.420 slash line in the Minors with 18 home runs over the last three seasons.
Wallace needs more time to develop, but he’s got tons of power and provides excellent defense. That could make this deal sting, but the Royals knew what they would have to give up with the way the trade market has evolved.
“What we came to realize is if you’re going to acquire a quality relief pitcher with years of control, it’s not going to be a comfortable trade to make,” Picollo said. "You’re going to have to give up something to get something."
With this move, the Royals made a major change for Day 1 of the MLB Draft, which begins Sunday at 6 p.m. CT. New scouting director Brian Bridges has gone from three picks on Day 1 to two – No. 6 overall in the first round and their second-round pick (No. 41 overall). The Royals also lose $2,395,000 – the slot money for No. 39 – from their overall bonus pool, dropping to $13,023,300.
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This is the second time in three seasons that the Royals have traded a Draft pick; they used a Competitive Balance pick in 2022 to land Drew Waters, CJ Alexander and Andrew Hoffmann from the Braves.
“Thinking about both ends, our Major League club and our future, we still thought this was the best avenue for us to secure prospects and not go crazy trying to give up too much,” Picollo said. “The Draft pick was one thing we were willing to give up.”
The Royals, who are a game behind the Red Sox for the final American League Wild Card spot, feel like they’ve improved their team with the July 30 Trade Deadline still over two weeks away. Their clearest need – the bullpen – has been addressed.
But the Royals will stay active, Picollo said.
“I think this is a burden off our shoulders, that we were able to get somebody that we were targeting,” Picollo said. “We’ll continue to look and see how we can improve the team. … We have some time to sit back, look at our club now and decide how much we want to push. This is clearly a move that’s made for this Major League team to be better, so we’ll continue to be active and see if the right trade, the right acquisition, is out there for us.”