KANSAS CITY -- A week ago, when the Braves first reached out to the Royals about acquiring Kansas City’s Competitive Balance Round A pick in Sunday’s MLB Draft, the front office was not thrilled about the offer.
General manager J.J. Picollo didn’t think the deal would get done. The Royals value the Draft and have seen success with their compensation picks before. As MLB.com’s Jim Callis reported in April, the 35th pick holds a slot value of $2.2 million.
But as the week played out and conversations continued, the Royals became more open to the idea.
Who they settled on was the three-for-one trade announced on Monday morning: Kansas City sent the 35th pick to the Braves for three Minor Leaguers in center fielder Drew Waters, right-hander Andrew Hoffmann and infielder CJ Alexander.
Waters was added to the 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A Omaha, while Hoffmann and Alexander were assigned to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
“As we continued to talk to them, we thought, ‘You know what, there’s something here. They have prospects, they have players we like. Let’s at least be open-minded to it,’” Picollo said.
The Braves, who also own the 20th overall pick, bumped their Draft pool money up to $10.2 million, the 10th-highest total.
The Royals have their first-round pick (No. 9 overall) and their second-round pick (No. 49 overall) on Day 1 of the Draft. The club now has a Draft bonus pool of $9,466,200, the 15th highest.
“The hard part about this is, you got a group of guys sitting upstairs right now getting ready for the Draft,” Picollo said. “Everything they do all year is in preparation for next Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. That’s why you got to be really careful and really sure that this is a deal you want to do. They feel good about what we’re doing as an organization.”
While the move changes the way the Royals strategize for the Draft -- perhaps they make a safer pick at No. 9 to maximize their bonus pool later -- it also speaks to how they view the organization’s future.
Waters, who was ranked as Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline, was the Braves' second-round pick in 2017, and he has spent parts of the past three seasons at Triple-A Gwinnett. The switch-hitter and Southern League MVP in ’19 slashed .246/.305/.393 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 49 games with the Stripers this year.
Waters should become one of the Royals’ top 10 prospects, and his timeline fits with the young hitters on the current roster, including Bobby Witt Jr. and MJ Melendez, as well as current No. 1 prospect Vinnie Pasquantino.
“Drew Waters is somebody we’ve liked for a number of years, and to get your hands on a guy who you think is going to play center field is really exciting,” Picollo said. “We think there’s offensive upside.”
Center field is a major hole in the Royals’ organization. Waters fits the bill defensively. He’s a plus defender and runner, and with Michael A. Taylor only signed through 2023 and generating some trade rumor buzz, Waters offers promising depth right now -- and more if he finds consistency at the plate.
The 23-year-old is an aggressive hitter with swing-and-miss in his game, but the Royals feel confident in their hitting development team to help Waters in that area -- especially after the turnaround several of Kansas City's hitting prospects have seen over the past two years.
“It comes down to swing decisions,” Picollo said. “There is power, and sometimes power can get players in trouble, too. And because he’s a speed player, you want that combination of on-base-plus-speed. That’s what we’re working toward.”
Hoffmann -- a 12th-round pick in the 2021 Draft -- made 15 starts this year for High-A Rome, going 7-2 with a 2.36 ERA across 80 innings. Some scouts were more intrigued by Hoffmann than Waters in this deal.
The 22-year-old doesn’t light up radar guns at 91 mph, but Hoffmann can reach back for more at times. His delivery has deception that helps the fastball play up, and he offers a slider and changeup that are above average and can miss bats. Hoffmann is aggressive in the zone, with 90 strikeouts in 80 innings this year. The addition of his slider was a key factor for the Royals in the deal.
Alexander, 26, has spent the past two years with Double-A Mississippi, mashing 25 homers across 152 games. He primarily plays third base, along with some first base and the corner outfield.
When the Royals realized how motivated Atlanta was in getting this deal done, they pushed for a third player and landed on Alexander.
And that seems to be Kansas City’s approach to how the next two weeks play out before the Aug. 2 Trade Deadline. As sellers, the Royals will let contending teams come to them and stay patient to find returns that fit into their timeline.
“I think the timeline of when both [Waters and Hoffmann will be Major League ready] fits nicely with what we have, but I don’t think it’s going to change our approach to the coming two weeks,” Picollo said. “… We don’t feel the extreme need that we have to move any players. We know where the interest lies from other teams right now. It’s a matter of them assessing how willing they are, how much they think they’re in a race or not in the race before you get that motivation like we just went through with Atlanta.”