*Photo from The Athletic*
One of the keys to a team looking to contend is high leverage relievers, so the Kansas City Royals went and got one. The Royals have acquired LHP Amir Garrett from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for LHP Mike Minor and cash considerations, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Both teams have confirmed the trade.
Royals GM JJ Picolo said of trading for Garrett that "We had intentions from the very beginning of the offseason to address our bullpen. Amir’s a guy that we had our eyes on in October. It just took a while to get it taken care of. He’s a power left-hander, a guy who has a lot of experience. He’s going to help us build our pitching staff out from the back end."
Last season with the Reds, Garrett slipped in production and had one of the worst years of his career. He finished the season with a 0-4 record with a bloated 6.04 ERA and 1.57 WHIP, striking out 61 hitters and saving 7 games, throwing 47 2/3 innings across 63 relief appearances.
Despite his 2021 struggles, Garrett was one of the NL's best setup men in both 2019 and 2020, with a 3.03 ERA and 104 strikeouts over 74 1/3 innings, combined in both seasons. He offers some closing experience, with 8 career saves in 14 starts and 221 relief appearances in his 5 major league seasons, all with the Reds.
Garrett has two seasons of club control, and is arbitration eligible this season. He was able to avoid arbitration with his new team, settling on a $2.025 million salary in 2022. He was projected to earn $2.5 million in arbitration according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Heading to the Reds is Minor, a lefty who is due $10 million this season, and has a $13 million mutual option for 2023, which the Royals declined. The Reds are taking on all of Minor's contract, with the Royals sending $500,000 to pay for the $1 million buyout Minor will receive. Acquiring Minor was necessary to replenish the rotation depth.
Reds GM Nick Krall said of getting Minor that "We have several holes that we need to fill on our Major League club. We felt this one was one of the best ways to do it, bringing in Mike Minor. He had success in the past. He had a 4.3 FIP last year in Kansas City. We think he’s a quality starting pitcher that just adds to this club for this year."
Like Garrett, Minor had his struggles in 2021, ending the regular season with a 8-12 record with a rather high 5.05 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, fanning 149 hitters while walking only 41, throwing 158 2/3 innings across 28 starts for the Royals.
In Kansas City, Garrett will either become a setup man or compete for the closers job, but he will certainly have a high leverage spot in the back of the Royals bullpen. Minor will likely take over the rotation spot that was opened with Sonny Gray being traded, slotting in behind Tyler Mahle and Luis Castillo in Cincinnati.
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