MLB trade rumors: Nationals acquire All-Star closer Kelvin Herrera

The Washington Nationals are adding to an already strong bullpen with Kansas City Royals closer Kelvin Herrera.

The first big trade of MLB’s trade deadline window goes to the Washington Nationals, who are reportedly the winners of the Kelvin Herrera sweepstakes. With the Kansas City Royals battling it out for the worst record in baseball, it was only a matter of time before their All-Star closer found a new home. Herrera will join Sean Doolittle and form one of the best one-two relief punches in the National League.

Through 27 appearances with the Royals, Herrera was having the best season of his career. The two-time All-Star had logged 25.2 innings for Kansas City with a 1.05 ERA and 22 strikeouts against only two walks. The 28-year-old Herrera has rebounded sharply after a down year in 2017 and already had 14 saves.

The impending trade was confirmed by Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, who reported that the return to Kansas City will be three minor leaguers, though none of the Nationals top prospects are included in the deal.

This is the second year in a row that the Nationals have struck quickly to improve their bullpen at the trade deadline. Last year, they acquired Doolitte, Ryan Madson and Brandon Kintzler to shore up a leaky relief corps. The revamped bullpen has a 3.69 ERA this year, but had seen its middle relievers struggle with consistency.

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The Nationals find themselves in a surprising dogfight with the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies for the NL East title, and the addition of Herrera will certainly help in what is shaping up to be a race all the way to October. For the Royals, the trade of Herrera is a significant step because it shows the front office is serious about entering a true rebuilding phase. Kansas City elected to try and go for it one last time with their core group of stars and missed a prime opportunity to get to work restocking their farm system.