What Does Reliever Matt Strahm's Return To Kansas City Bring To The Royals?

[Jackson Huxel]

Image courtesy of © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Last week, the Royals made a splashy move to shore up the bullpen, acquiring All-Star setup man Matt Strahm from the Phillies for Johnathon Bowlan. Kansas City's approach has centered on targeting specific needs, particularly in the outfield and bullpen, and leveraging its pitching depth in trades. The Strahm deal, which reunites him with the team that drafted him, is a cornerstone of this strategy.

Matt Strahm Background

Drafted by the Royals in the 21st round of the 2012 draft, Strahm came out of Neosho City Community College. He had dominated the minors with his best season coming in 2015, where he shared time in the Royals' Single-A and High-A affiliates, appearing in 29 games with a 2.59 ERA, five saves, 121 strikeouts, and .968 WHIP. 

He made his major league debut with Kansas City in 2016, appearing in 22 games with a 1.23 ERA, a 34 percent strikeout rate, and an xWOBA of .227. He struggled in his sophomore season, appearing in 24 games with a 14.3 walk percentage and a barrel percentage of 6.5, finishing with an inflated xERA of 4.09.

Strahm would be sent packing in 2018, with Esteury Ruiz and Travis Wood going to the Padres in exchange for Trevor Cahill, Brandon Maurer, and Ryan Buchter; he appeared in 112 games with the Padres, posting a 107 ERA+. 

After one season with the Red Sox, he’d sign with the Phillies in 2023, where he’d be the anchor of the Phillies bullpen. Including a 2024 campaign where he received the only All-Star nod of his career, where he appeared in a career high 66 games with a 6-2 record, ranking in the 96th percentile in K% (33.3) and xBA (.187), 97th percentile in BB% (4.6), and 99th percentile in xERA 2.43.

Matt Strahm Arsenal

The 34-year-old lefty has a four-pitch repertoire that consists of a fastball, slider, sinker, and cutter. This season, he relied heavily on a fastball-slider combo, with his fastball being used at a 38 percent clip and slider at 32%. 

His fastball sits at 92.3, where it generated a putaway percentage of 23.4 and an xBA of .174. He uses his fastball heavily against righties, raising his usage to 44.8%. He struggled with the longball, giving up four home runs and a 45.8 hard-hit percentage that brought his run value down to -3. 

His slider comes in at his best pitch at a run value of +8 with a whiff rate of 30%, wOBA of 167, and a 28.8. His 87.7 mph cutter was his second-best pitch, which generated a usage rate of 14.6% but created soft contact with a 23.8 hard-hit percentage, and his second-best putaway pitch at 21.4, finishing with a run value of +4. 

Finally, at +2 run value, his sinker sits at 92.4 mph. Hitters were all over it last season, hitting at a .319 xBA, .506 xSLG, and xWOBA. 

Strahm will bring consistency and a veteran presence to an already strong bullpen with average velocity and nasty break pitches that generate weak contact. He is the perfect setup man for a hungry playoff team. 

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