Washington Nationals: Bullpen gets much stronger with addition of Kelvin Herrera

The Washington Nationals continue to strengthen their bullpen by acquiring Kelvin Herrera from the Kansas City Royals

At this time last season, the Washington Nationals had no back end of a bullpen to speak of. At the trade deadline last year, they acquired Brandon Kintzler, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson to fortify the back end of the bullpen for a playoff run. The club struggled to start the year but are right near the top of the division again, even with the amount of injuries they’ve had.

Now they’ve added a big piece to the back of their bullpen. Your move rest of MLB.

Herrera is currently 1-1 with 14 saves and 1.05 ERA. In 25.2 innings, he’s struck out 22 batters. He’s someone who can close, or set up as he did with Royals pennant and World Series clubs a couple of years ago.

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What’s the return?

Gutierrez was the Nationals’ 10th ranked prospect and Perkins was 11th according to MLBpipeline.com.

Gutierrez was at AA for the Nationals where he hit .274 with a .713 OPS. Here’s some more about him via his scouting report on MLBpipeline.com

The Nationals view Gutierrez as one of the better pure hitters in their system. He has a relatively simple inside-out stroke from the right side of the plate that produces hard contact across the whole field and fuels his projection as an above-average hitter. And while he hasn’t yet figured out how to apply his raw power during games, club officials do expect him to clear more fences once he becomes more comfortable firing his barrel and turning on the ball.

Perkins was the Nationals’ second round pick in 2015. At High-A he’s hitting .234 with a .634 OPS.

The Nationals helped Perkins become a switch-hitter upon entering the pro ranks, and the club is thrilled with his early returns from both sides of the plate. He made huge strides as a lefty in 2017, collecting 25 of his 39 extra-base hits including all eight of his home runs from that side, albeit with some swing-and-miss tendencies. He’s more contact-oriented with modest gap power from his natural right side, while his patient approach and discerning eye stands out on both sides of the plate.Perkins’ plus speed translated to 31 steals in his first full season, and he should continue to swipe bags with ease thanks to his strong on-base skills. He gets excellent jumps and has range for days in all directions in center field, with average arm strength that allows him to play all three outfield positions if needed. Perkins has the ceiling of a top-of-the-order center fielder, with a fourth-outfielder floor thanks to his across-the-board tools

Morel is just 17 years of age and playing in the Dominican Summer League. He was a part of the Nationals international signings last year.

This sets the market for what it will take to get guys like Zach Britton, Brad Brach and potentially Brad Hand.

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For the Washington Nationals, they upgrade their bullpen to help a starting staff that has some injuries right now. The Nationals get Kelvin Herrera for an six weeks before the playoffs. For the Royals, they get three pieces that they hope will be a part of their future.

It appears trade season has begun.