After a solid season in the bullpen for the Royals, the lefty Angel Zerpa is attracting trade attention from rival teams, writes MLB.com’s Anne Rogers. There is no sense that a deal is imminent or if Kansas City is open to moving Zerpa, but Rogers notes that the Royals could deal with what appears to be a surplus of left-handed pitching.
Cole Ragans he lives on top of KC’s rotation and apparently isn’t going anywhere, either Chris Bubic probably no action will be taken because the royals want to see how he is doing if he returns to the beginning of the fight. Zerpa, Daniel Lynch IV, Sam Longand prospects Noah Cameron again Evan Sisk are the other lefties on the Royals’ 40-man roster, with Rogers noting that Lynch and Cameron will also compete for a rotation job in Spring Training.
Kansas City may wish to see how the rotation competition plays out before making any trade decisions, to assess Bubic’s health as he is removed from Tommy John surgery in April 2023, and to be cautious. Kyle Wrighthis return after missing 2024 recovering from shoulder surgery. There’s also the fact that Zerpa is not only one of the few lefties, but is currently the top lefty option in the Royals bullpen. Given how mediocre the relief corps was in 2024, the Royals may prefer to add to the bullpen rather than subtract, especially since the team’s depth is already lacking there. Brady Singer addressed to Mabomvu.
Still, there’s no harm in hearing what teams might offer the 25-year-old Zerpa, who is controlled by the club through the 2028 season. A rookie out of Venezuela in 2016, Zerpa has spent his entire career in the KC organization, reaching the majors with one appearance in the 2021 season. The Royals bounced him back and forth from Triple-A several times in 2022-23, but Zerpa also suffered two significant injuries — a torn patellar tendon in his right knee cut short Zerpa’s 2022 season, and a shoulder problem kept him out of 2023. debut until August.
With a 3.84 ERA in his first 58 2/3 innings (six of 19 starts), Zerpa broke camp in 2024 in a full-time relief role. He nearly matched his previous career ERA with a 3.86 ERA in 53 2/3 relief frames last year, along with a 58.2% slugging percentage. Zerpa’s ability to keep the ball on the ground helped him secure above-average strikeout (20.4) and walk (8.3) rates, and despite his .325 BABIP, too much hard contact allowed him to end up sitting down.
It’s not your typical recipe for bullpen success, so it seems reasonable that the Royals might consider trading up for Zerpa if another club is interested enough. Rogers suggests that rival teams may look to move Zerpa back into a starting role, which could increase his value in trade talks to some degree.
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