The Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves struck an interesting deal on Friday night, swapping pitchers Kyle Wright and Jackson Kowar.
Per Jeff Passan of ESPN on social media:
Trade news:
Royals receive: right-hander Kyle Wright, who underwent shoulder surgery and will miss the 2024 season.
Braves receive: right-hander Jackson Kowar, a former first-round pick
A few different things to consider with this:
1) The Royals are in rebuild mode and they just need to acquire talent. Even though Wright will miss the 2024 season, if he can re-find his past form, he'll be a huge addition to the Royals in 2025 and beyond. He will have two years of team control beyond 2024 so Kansas City will get plenty of chances to see him and utilize his talents.
2) It's also fair to wonder what the Braves are gearing up for. They've cleared out Wright, Mike Soroka and Jared Shuster this week, so are they getting ready to make a big move themselves?
It's been a disappointing last year for Wright, who dealt with injuries for much of the 2023 season. He went just 1-3 with a 6.97 ERA. However, Wright is an elite talent when healthy. He won a league-best 21 games in 2022 and is 24-16 lifetime with a 4.45 ERA.
As for Kowar, he's 27-years-old and is coming off a season that saw him go 2-0 in 23 games for KC. He had a 6.43 ERA and struck out 29 batters in 28 innings.
It remains to be seen if he will be minor league depth for Atlanta or will have a chance to crack the major league roster.
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