Royals acquire Cahill, Buchter, Maurer from Padres in 6-player deal
Just hours after watching the division-rival Minnesota Twins swing a deal for Jaime Garcia, the Kansas City Royals made a move to bolster their own pitching staff - as well as their playoff chances - by swinging a six-player deal with the San Diego Padres on Monday.
Kansas City acquired starter Trevor Cahill, reliever Brandon Maurer, and southpaw Ryan Buchter from the Padres in exchange for left-handers Matt Strahm and Travis Wood, plus minor-league infielder Esteury Ruiz.
Cahill, who spent all of 2016 in the bullpen with the Chicago Cubs, has been one of the Padres' best starters this season despite missing significant time with a shoulder injury. The 29-year-old joined San Diego on a one-year, $1.75-million deal this winter and has put up a team-best 3.69 ERA, plus a 1.344 WHIP and 68 strikeouts across 11 starts. It's likely he'll slot into the back end of the Royals' rotation.
Maurer has served as San Diego's closer this season. Despite his inflated 5.72 ERA, the 27-year-old has recorded 20 saves while striking out 38 batters to just eight walks. He's making $1.9 million this year and has another two seasons of team control remaining.
Buchter, 30, owns a 3.05 ERA and 1.200 WHIP in 42 games for the Padres. He's been particularly effective against left-handed hitters, holding them to a meager .663 OPS in 65 plate appearances this season. Like Maurer, Buchter also has several years of team control remaining; he's not eligible for free agency until 2022.
Wood heads to the Padres after a disastrous stint in Kansas City, just a year removed from his tremendous turn in the Cubs' bullpen. The 30-year-old owns a 6.91 ERA and 1.824 WHIP over 28 appearances (three starts) while walking nearly as many batters (20) as he has strikeouts (29). His contract will pay him $6.5 million in 2018, and contains an $8-million mutual option in 2019.
Kansas City is paying all of Wood's remaining salary, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Strahm is currently on the disabled list and won't pitch again this season due to a knee injury. The 25-year-old posted a 5.45 ERA and 1.500 WHIP across 24 appearances (three starts) for Kansas City before suffering the injury. He flashed some promise over his first 21 big-league games in 2016, however, when he averaged 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings and put up a 1.23 ERA over 21 relief appearances.
Ruiz is an 18-year-old infielder from the Dominican Republic in his second professional season, and plays both second base and shortstop. He's hit .419/.440/.779 over 21 games with the Royals' Arizona Rookie League affiliate this summer.
The Royals also recalled left-hander Brian Flynn from Triple-A while designating pitchers Al Alburquerque and Luke Farrell in corresponding moves.