With the 2024 MLB trade deadline just a few hours away, contending clubs continue to add depth.
Perhaps the biggest move is the Kansas City Royals have acquired right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg from the Oakland Athletics for right-handers Will Klein and Mason Barnett, and outfielder Jared Dickey.
Erceg has been strong in 2024, covering 36.2 innings and posting above-average runs-allowed metrics across the board. The stuff is well above-average with an elite four-seam/slider combo. He also throws a two-seamer and changeup with mixed results
Erceg is into triple digits and misses bats with all four pitches. He can close games or be utilized in high-leverage spots to put out the fire. His one flaw is occasional control problems.
Erceg is not free agent eligible until after the 2029 season and won’t be eligible for arbitration salaries until after next year. The Royals landed a multi-year option for the late innings.
Klein, 24, heads to Oakland after debuting out of the Royals bullpen this season, showing good stuff but inconsistent command. It’s a 96-100 mph four-seam fastball and a mid-80s slider that has a chance to be consistently above average. He’ll throw his firm changeup to lefties and when he finishes it shows sink and a bit of tailing action for some whiffs and ground balls.
Barnett is a 23-year-old taken in Round 3 in 2022 out of Aurbun. He projects as a rotation piece with an above-average fastball with big velo into the upper-90s at times, and three secondaries, including a slider flashing plus and a changeup he’s comfortable throwing in any count. He’s piled up the strikeouts at four levels, landing in Double-A this season. There’s control and command work to do, but he’s athletic, and it’s a starter’s kit bearing in on a big-league debut.
Dickey is a Tennessee Vols product, taken in Round 11 last July as a hit-over-power profile in an outfield corner. There is some power in his left-handed swing, as evidenced by his nine homers this season, but getting on base and making contact is his game.
If he’s to play regularly he’ll have to max out his ability to hit for average and post big OBPs, and also play good defense. Otherwise, it’s a future reserve role or platoon profile. Dickey was batting .269/.360/.432 in High-A at the time of the trade.
The Royals have up some long-term upside and depth here, but Ecerg is a very good setup type still trending up in development, and his presence down the stretch makes a difference on the club’s postseason run this summer.
The A’s did pretty well here considering where they are; it’s never a bad idea to maximize the value of a reliever when the iron is hot.
TRADE GRADES (20-80 Scale)
Kansas City: 60
Oakland: 60
The Cleveland Guardians have sent left-handed pitcher Jacob Bresnahan to the San Francisco Giants for veteran right-handed starter Alex Cobb, who is just coming off a rehab assignment. He’s missed the entire season with a hip injury.
Bresnahan is a projectable arm flashing above-average stuff, sitting 89-93 mph with a slider that’s flashed and some promise in his changeup. It’s a high three-quarter slot from his 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame, including some deception out front.
Assuming Cobbs gets back to a reasonable level — he hasn’t exactly looked great on rehab, getting lit by the Single-A lineup of the Seattle Mariners last week, sitting on the upper-80s with the fastball, and showing no bite on the breaking stuff. His only weapon was the split — it’s a decent move for Cleveland, offering depth and options for the rotation and bullpen.
With the injury to Shane Bieber, the Guardians have run out the likes of Joey Cantillo, Spencer Howard, and Xzavion Curry for starts.
The Giants did well here getting projection on a lefty arm in return for Cobb, a pitcher they don’t need for 2024 and beyond. Bresnahan was the Guardians’ 13th-round pick last year.
TRADE GRADES (20-80 Scale)
Cleveland: 45
San Francisco: 55
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