Royals Acquire Lefty Matt Strahm From Phillies

On Friday morning, Robert Murray of Fansided noted that left-handed reliever Matt Strahm would be heading to the Kansas City Royals, according to sources.

Later, Mark Feinsand confirmed the move, also noting that right-handed reliever Jonathan Bowlan would be going back to the Phillies in the deal. 

The Royals this offseason have noted that they wanted to acquire a lefty reliever who could get left-handed batters out. After trading away Angel Zerpa for Isaac Collins and Nick Mears, it seemed like the Royals' need for such a reliever was even more urgent.

Strahm is a former 21st-round draft pick by the Royals, selected in the 2012 MLB Draft. Strahm pitched two seasons in Kansas City (2016 and 2017) and put up ERA marks of 1.23 and 5.49, respectively. Since then, he's pitched for the Padres, Red Sox, and Phillies and posted a 2.74 ERA, 2.99 FIP, and 1.5 fWAR in 66 outings and 62.1 IP.

When looking at his metrics via TJ Stats, Strahm illustrated above-average stuff metrics, a strong ability to flood the strike zone, and a capability to generate a lot of chase as well as weak contact. 

Strahm will be a free agent after the 2026 season. It will be interesting to see if Strahm will be a one-year project or if the Royals are planning to extend him at some point next year. He just turned 34 years old this November.

As for Bowlan, he had a solid year last season, posting a 3.86 ERA in 44.1 IP. He also sported strong TJ Stuff+ metrics as well as chase and whiff rates, according to TJ Stats.

Bowlan's FIP was a bit higher at 3.97, and he didn't see a whole lot of high-leverage situations last year. He is also out of Minor League options, and he was one of the most optioned relievers in the Royals' bullpen last season. With the arrival of Mears and James McArthur returning from injury, it seems like the Royals were willing to make Bowlan expendable, despite his intriguing pitch metrics.

The Royals have made the deal official, per their team's social media accounts.

With it being a one-for-one trade, the Royals roster remains full at 40 players. 

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