KANSAS CITY -- Following the trade that sent reliever Angel Zerpa to Milwaukee for outfielder Isaac Collins and reliever Nick Mears, the Royals turned up their search for left-handed relief help this week and landed it Friday morning, acquiring Matt Strahm in a trade with the Phillies and sending right-handed reliever Jonathan Bowlan back to Philadelphia.
TRADE DETAILS
Royals get: LHP Matt Strahm
Phillies get: RHP Jonathan Bowlan
Strahm, 34, has turned into one of the better lefty setup men in the league, and in the past three seasons with the Phillies, he posted a 2.71 ERA across 188 appearances. He was an All-Star in 2024 and finished that year with a 1.87 ERA, and last season, he posted a 2.74 ERA across a career-high-tying 66 appearances (62 1/3 innings) with a career-best 22 holds. In the last four seasons since 2022, Strahm ranks third among all left-handed pitchers (min. 200 appearances) with a 2.90 ERA, trailing only Tyler Holton (2.63) and Alex Vesia (2.74).
Strahm’s career actually started with the Royals, who drafted him in the 21st round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Neosho County Community College. He made his debut with the Royals in 2016 and pitched two seasons in Kansas City before being traded to the Padres with Esteury Ruiz and Travis Wood for Brandon Maurer, Ryan Buchter and Trevor Cahill.
“We were all very, very excited when we realized this was a possibility for our team,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “We know Matt very well as a person, as a player, what type of competitor he is. And when you’re talking about a bullpen and pitching in high-leverage situations, there’s not very many left-handers that have done it better than Matt for the last couple of years. Proud to have been part of his career early on and to watch him move on and do what he’s doing -- pitching in All-Star Games and playoff series, it’s a pretty special career. This is exactly what our bullpen needed right now.”
The Royals were in contact with the Phillies throughout the Winter Meetings and left Orlando, Fla., thinking they were a good match. Once Zerpa left for Milwaukee, the Royals were in need of not just any left-handed reliever, but a quality one, and conversations ramped up last weekend.
And nearly nine years after he left Kansas City, Strahm couldn’t be happier to reunite with his former team that’s now looking to be a sustainable winner.
“This all feels like a movie to me,” Strahm said. “This all started here in Kansas City. It’s gone full circle. With my family, I’ve been talking about the montage of my Spring Training profile pic over the [past] 10 years -- it’s going to be a good one to go from Royal to Royal.”
In his career, Strahm has held left-handed batters to a .239/.302/.376 slash line, and actually has better numbers against righties, who have slashed .212/.279/.370 against him. In 2025, lefties hit .233 with a .673 OPS against Strahm, while righties hit .196 with a .585 OPS. With the Royals, Strahm figures to be the go-to lefty in high-leverage situations, joining the back end of the bullpen that includes Lucas Erceg and closer Carlos Estévez, who are both righties.
“My mentality every time I toe the rubber [is], ‘Get an out,’” Strahm said. “I haven’t changed in that [thought process]. I’m not going to change that.”
Strahm has five pitches in his arsenal, but he mainly utilizes his 92 mph four-seamer and slider, the latter of which registered a 30% whiff rate in ‘25. He also throws a sinker and cutter, and although his changeup hasn’t shown up as much the last few years, it is a pitch he’s working on now. Strahm has gotten more chase as his career has progressed and posted a 33.3 chase percentage last season. A consistent strike-thrower, Strahm has a 27.3% career strikeout rate and 7.0% career walk rate. Those are all things the Royals wanted to add to their bullpen this offseason, and Strahm brings the added bonus of another veteran presence, having pitched for 10 seasons and four different teams. He’s also pitched in four postseasons, including 2020 with the Padres and each of the last three seasons with Philly.
After vesting his 2026 option with the Phillies, Strahm is due to make $7.5 million next season before becoming a free agent. That salary, along with the Phillies still having a few lefties in their bullpen, likely led to their desire to trade Strahm. Now the Phillies can use that money to address other areas of their roster, while the Royals received an elite reliever for a minimal price. Strahm joins two other new faces in the Kansas City bullpen -- Mears and Alex Lange, who signed a one-year deal in November -- in 2026. All three will add needed chase to the ‘pen, which induced a 26.9% chase rate last season -- tied for 26th in MLB.
“We have, for the most part, been a pitch to contact type of staff,” Picollo said. “So if you can get somebody who can get a little bit of chase, swing and miss, that’s a big part of it. Matt, his strikeout rates, fits the bill.”
With the Royals’ main bullpen need checked off the list, they’ll continue to look for depth, but they feel good about the arms they have now entering ‘26.
Bowlan, 29, has pitched in parts of the last three seasons with the Royals, appearing in a career-high 34 games last season. The club transitioned him to a full-time reliever over the past year and saw his velocity tick up, but he bounced back and forth between Triple-A and the Majors for much of the year.