The San Diego Padres are in agreement on a deal to acquire reliever Trevor Rosenthal from the Kansas City Royals, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Saturday.
Arguably the best reliever on the market is headed to the Padres, whose beleaguered bullpen will get a huge boost from a revitalized Rosenthal.
Two prospects are going to be headed to Kansas City if the deal, which is pending medicals, is completed as expected, sources told ESPN.
The 30-year-old Rosenthal has a 3.29 ERA with seven saves and 21 strikeouts in 13.2 innings over 14 appearances this season. He has fared especially well against left-handed batters this season, striking out 16 of the 32 hitters he’s faced and allowing just three hits for a .148 slugging percentage.
The Royals signed the former All-Star reliever to a $2.25 million deal after last season.
He was dismal with the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals in 2019, going 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in 22 appearances. It was a far cry from his 2015 form, when Rosenthal had a 2.10 ERA and 48 saves while helping the St. Louis Cardinals to a 100-win season and the NL Central title.
Rosenthal has 128 saves and a 3.46 ERA over eight big league seasons. He also was part of the 2013 Cardinals team that lost to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.
ESPN’s Buster Olney and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
