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Padres acquire Trevor Rosenthal from Royals for Edward Olivares and PTBNL

The Padres get arguably the best reliever available on the trade market.

MLB: Kansas City Royals at St. Louis Cardinals Photo by Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres are acquiring reliever Trevor Rosenthal from the Royals in exchange for outfielder Edward Olivares and another prospect to be named later. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin were the first to report the deal on Saturday afternoon, while MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell and Mark Feinsand also broke elements of the trade:

Rosenthal, 30, had a disastrous 2019 season, posting a 13.50 ERA and a 2.41 WHIP with 17 strikeouts and 26 walks over 22 appearances (15.1 innings) between the Nationals and Tigers. But the former All-Star closer joined his hometown Royals on a minor-league deal over the offseason, reuniting with his former Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. He’s experienced a major resurgence in 2020, throwing with his trademark velocity while regaining his command. Over 14 appearances, he has a 3.29 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP, 21 strikeouts, seven walks, and a perfect seven saves in seven opportunities.

Olivares, 24, made the Padres’ Opening Day roster this year and debuted on July 25. Ranked as the No. 20 prospect in the Padres’ system by MLB Pipeline, he hit .176/.222/.294 with one homer before being optioned on August 19.

With teams not being able to trade players outside of their 60-man player pools, the Royals will have to wait until after the season to receive a second prospect from San Diego, so it remains to be seen exactly how much value they’ll get for their closer.