The Nationals have acquired right-handed reliever Kelvin Herrera from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for three prospects.
Source: The Kansas City Royals have traded closer Kelvin Herrera to the Washington Nationals. @JonHeyman said it was close.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 18, 2018
Nationals have a deal in place for Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera, according to person familiar. Three minor leaguers going back.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) June 18, 2018No Soto, Robles, Kieboom, Garcia or Antuna going back in the deal, according to a person familiar. https://t.co/5BAqPY9TxQ
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) June 18, 2018According to Jon Heyman, the prospects Washington gives up include center fielder Blake Perkins, third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez and right-handed pitcher Yohanse Morel. Perkins (a second-round pick in 2015) and Gutierrez (international signing, Dominican Republic) are the 11th- and 10th-ranked prospects in the organization, respectively, per MLB Pipeline.
Perkins is a CF, Gutierrez a 3B and Morel a RHP. scout from another team: all three will be major leaguers. #royals #nats
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 19, 2018Herrera, 28, is a top-flight closer with proven postseason experience. He allowed one run over three World Series appearances against the Mets in 2015. He has 14 saves in 16 opportunities, and has maintained a 1.05 ERA with 22 strikeouts and two walks over 27 total appearances in 2018.
Here's what the Nationals get in Kelvin Herrera: a fastball that's 95-99 mph, a plus slider, a changeup that when it's on is goofy, pinpoint control and late-inning experience.The Nats jumped the market to get one of the best RP available. He's a free agent after this season.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 19, 2018This is a total trust-the-scouts trade for Kansas City -- and completely on-brand with how Dayton Moore runs the organization. None of the three minor leaguers the Royals acquired are high on prospect lists. Club is banking on evaluators' judgments more than public perception.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 19, 2018One evaluator said he doesn't think the Royals got an everyday player in the Herrera deal. Another is a fan: "Good for a rental." The guy to watch in the group, he said, is Kelvin Gutierrez, a 23-year-old third baseman at Double-A. Former SS, big athlete at 6-3, 215, strong bat.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 19, 2018Follow @ChrisLingebach and @1067TheFan on Twitter
