Diamondbacks acquire OF Nick Heath from Royals

The Diamondbacks acquired outfielder Nick Heath from the Royals this afternoon, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was among those to relay. Right-hander Eduardo Herrera is headed back to Kansas City in return. To clear space for Heath on the 40-man roster, Arizona designated right-hander Jeremy Beasley for assignment.

The Royals had designated Heath for assignment earlier this week. The speedy outfielder has taken just 18 MLB plate appearances and has only picked up marginally more playing time at Triple-A. He does have rather significant experience at the Double-A level, were he’s compiled a .255/.333/.372 line over 500 plate appearances. The 27-year-old Heath also has all three minor league option years remaining, so he’ll give Arizona a center field capable player with roster flexibility. D-Backs center fielder Ketel Marte is currently on the injured list with a hamstring strain.

Herrera was originally signed by the D-Backs as a position player, but he converted to the mound in 2019. He has struck out 40 and issued 19 walks in 25.2 low minors innings. FanGraphs Eric Longenhagen wrote last month that Herrera throws in the mid-90’s but has inconsistent breaking ball feel and command, hardly a surprise for someone so new to pitching.

Beasley’s MLB experience consists of a third of an inning in one relief appearance. The 25-year-old has  worked as a starter in the minors, compiling a 3.59 ERA in 153 career innings at Double-A. Arizona will have a week to trade Beasley or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.