The Kansas City Royals have made it clear they’re not waiting around this offseason. Just days after sending lefty Ángel Zerpa to the Brewers, they’ve brought back a familiar face to reinforce their bullpen - veteran left-hander Matt Strahm.
Strahm, who began his professional career with the Royals after being selected in the 21st round of the 2012 MLB Draft, returns to Kansas City with one year and $7.5 million left on his current deal. It’s been a while since he last wore a Royals uniform - 2017, to be exact - and in the years since, he’s pitched for the Padres, Red Sox, and Phillies. Now, the Royals are betting on his experience and versatility to stabilize a bullpen that’s in the middle of a serious retool.
To land Strahm from Philadelphia, Kansas City sent right-hander Jonathan Bowlan the other way. Bowlan saw limited big-league action in 2023 and 2024, but he made 34 appearances last season and holds a career 4.32 ERA.
While he’s not a household name, Bowlan offers the Phillies something valuable: long-term control. He won’t even hit arbitration until 2029 and is under team control through 2032 - a potentially useful piece for a team looking to build depth on the cheap.
On the surface, this looks like a savvy move by the Royals. They gave up a controllable but unproven arm in Bowlan and got back a seasoned, high-leverage reliever in Strahm. But to fully understand the chessboard here, you have to look at it in the context of the Royals’ earlier move - the trade that sent Ángel Zerpa to Milwaukee.
That deal saw the Royals ship out Zerpa in exchange for outfielder Isaac Collins and righty Nick Mears. Zerpa, a hard-throwing lefty with flashes of upside but plenty of inconsistency, has mostly worked out of the bullpen at the big-league level. But the Brewers may see something more.
According to reports, folks inside Milwaukee’s front office believe Zerpa could transition into a starting role. That’s a bold projection, but not entirely out of left field.
Zerpa was a starter throughout much of his minor league development, and with some tweaks - a sharper changeup, maybe a cutter (a pitch Milwaukee’s pitching lab is known to develop) - he could evolve into a legitimate rotation option. That potential upside likely played a big role in the price Milwaukee was willing to pay.
If Zerpa develops into a reliable starter, then the Brewers’ end of the deal starts to make a lot more sense. But if he remains a middle reliever - especially one not closing games - then giving up Collins and Mears, who have seven combined years of team control, starts to feel like a steep cost.
That’s what makes the Royals’ acquisition of Strahm so interesting. They took on $7.5 million in salary, sure, but they only had to part with Bowlan - a pitcher who, while controllable, hasn’t yet proven he can consistently get outs at the MLB level. Compare that to what the Brewers gave up for Zerpa, and it’s clear that Milwaukee sees a much higher ceiling in Zerpa than Kansas City did.
It’s also telling that both trades came from the same Royals front office. This isn’t a case of a philosophical shift between regimes.
This is about evaluation - and the Royals clearly didn’t view Zerpa as a future starter worth holding onto. The Brewers, on the other hand, are betting big on that possibility.
For Kansas City, the moves suggest a focus on reliability and experience in the bullpen - and Strahm brings both. He’s been through the battles, pitched in high-leverage spots, and knows how to navigate big-league lineups. For a Royals team that’s trying to climb back into contention, having a trusted lefty late in games could be a difference-maker.
And while Zerpa’s upside might one day make the Royals second-guess the move, they’ve made their position clear: they’re not waiting around for potential to develop. They’re building a bullpen that can win now.