Washington Nationals Reportedly Interested in Royals' Kelvin Herrera
The Washington Nationals are off to a great start. They are right at the top of the standings right now, but the season is still young. Anything can happen over the course of a 162-game season, plus the offseason. That's why the club will continue to look for potential targets to strengthen their roster.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals are currently mired in a terrible slump at the bottom of the standings. Of course, they can still turn things around. But if the Royals continue to play like this, they will soon become prime candidates to unload some of their veterans before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. In fact, the Nationals may already be eyeing one of their players.
According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Nationals have expressed interest in acquiring closer Kelvin Herrera.
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Well, the Royals didn't really use Herrera much this year because they were horrible. He's the classic good closer on a bad team and he would be a good addition for the Nationals.
The club started the season with Blake Treinen as their closer, but he struggled in that role. Shawn Kelley's currently splitting closer duties with Koda Glover. However, a number of observers have pointed out that the team could really use an upgrade at the position and Herrera might be the right man for the job.
"At 16–8, Washington doesn't look like a team with many weaknesses (though center fielder Adam Eaton's knee injury is troubling), but its bullpen has been a glaring issue in April. The unit's 6.08 ERA and 5.09 FIP rank toward the bottom of the majors, so it would behoove the Nationals to bolster their relief corps if its performance doesn't improve in the coming months," Connor Byrne of MLB Trade Rumors said in his report.
"Herrera would theoretically help the Nats do that, as he has typically been a premier reliever since debuting in 2012," he continued.
