Royals latest trade further confirms Brewers' belief in Ángel Zerpa's versatility

The Kansas City Royals wasted no time reshaping their bullpen, adding a new left-handed pitcher to their relief corps this morning after trading the electric left arm of Ángel Zerpa to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for outfielder Isaac Collins and right-hander Nick Mears last weekend.

Returning to Kansas City is Matt Strahm, who was originally drafted by the Royals in the 21st round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Strahm last appeared in a game for Kansas City in 2017, which was followed by stints with the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies. Now, he returns to where his professional career began with one year and $7.5 million remaining on his contract.

To acquire Strahm from Philadelphia, the Royals sent right-handed pitcher Jonathan Bowlan to the Phillies, making it a clean reliever-for-reliever swap. Bowlan owns a career 4.32 ERA in the majors, with just a few games worth of experience across the 2023–24 seasons, before appearing in 34 last year. He is controllable through the 2032 season and will not be arbitration-eligible until 2029.

On paper, the trade looks like the Royals gave up very little to acquire an All-Star bullpen arm in Strahm, while the Brewers sacrificed a lot for Zerpa, who still has plenty to prove at the big-league level. However, a deeper look reveals there’s more than meets the eye.

Brewers' belief in Ángel's Zerpa ability to start games seems to have impacted Kansas City's asking price

When the Brewers officially announced their acquisition of Zerpa from the Royals, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy revealed that several people within the organization believe the former Royal could eventually start games for Milwaukee. That idea is somewhat surprising, given that Zerpa has been used almost exclusively out of the bullpen at the big-league level, but he was a starter when he was drafted and throughout his minor league development. Additionally, with improvements to his changeup, and perhaps the development of a cutter -- something the Brewers love to do -- Zerpa could have the arsenal to become a valuable left-handed starter.

Whether Zerpa remains in the bullpen or joins the rotation has significant implications on the calculus of the Brewers and Royals' three-player swap. As Tremayne Person of Reviewing the Brew pointed out earlier this week, if Zerpa is an effective starter for the Brewers, the trade looks good for the Brewers, but if he's limited to a relief role, Collins and Mears, along with the seven years of team control they still collectively possess, looks like a slight overpay for a non-closing reliever.

The Royals trade for Strahm reveals that Milwaukee likely has bigger plans for Zerpa than relegating him to a one-inning middle relief role. Yes, Kansas City took on $7.5 million to bring in Strahm, which is by no means a drop in the bucket, but having only to surrender Bowlan to bring in an All-Star reliever is far less than what the Brewers gave up for an inconsistent reliever in Zerpa.

Given the fact that the same front office agreed to both the Zerpa and Strahm trades, it can't be chalked up to a difference in organizational philosophy. Rather, this series of moves appears to suggest that Milwaukee values Zerpa much higher than Kansas City did, seemingly revealing that the Brewers view a more significant role for the left-hander going forward.