Lucas Erceg Trade: Analyzing Every Prospect In The Royals-A’s Deal
Image credit: Lucas Erceg (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)
Rife with bullpen injuries and performance issues, the Royals swung a trade before Tuesday’s deadline to add another arm to their staff.
As first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Kansas City will acquire veteran righthander Lucas Erceg for a package of prospects confirmed by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand to include RHP, Mason Barnett, RHP Will Klein and OF Jared Dickey. Barnett (No. 11) and Klein (No. 16) both ranked squarely in Kansas City’s Top 30.
ROYALS RECEIVE
Lucas Erceg, RHP
Age: 29
Drafted out of NAIA Menlo in the second round of the 2016 draft as a position player, Erceg converted to pitching in 2021 and has developed into a legitimate high-leverage reliever over the past two seasons. He has three saves this season and a dozen holds this season for the Athletics and has swing-and-miss stuff. Erceg sits 98-99 mph on both his four-seam and sinker shapes and mixes a hard slider and changeup. Erceg has five years of team control remaining and enters arbitration in 2026. He should immediately slot into the back of the Royals bullpen that’s short of high-leverage options.
ATHLETICS RECEIVE
Mason Barnett, RHP
Age: 23
Drafted in the seventh round out of Auburn in 2022, Barnett has been a steady performer for the Royals in recent seasons. He has made 19 starts for Double-A Northwest Arkansas and has pitched well despite some rough luck on balls in play (.336 BABIP) and a low stand rate. While his 4.91 ERA is ugly his ERA estimators look good with a 3.74 FIP and 3.76 xFIP. Barnett has a short, burley build more typical of a reliever, but has shown the ability to get deeper into starts, having gone five or more innings in seven of his last eight starts. Barnett mixes a four-seam fastball sitting 94-95 mph with ride and cut, with a hard sweeper slider at 85-87 mph with over 10 inches of sweep on average, an upper-70s two-plane curveball and a changeup.
Will Klein, RHP
Age: 24
A fifth-round pick out of Eastern Illinois back in 2020, Klein made his major league debut for the Royals this season. He’s been a relief-only prospect his entire professional career and provides a close to the majors reliever for the Athletics. He mixes a high-90s fastball sitting 96-98 mph with average ride, a power curveball at 85-87 mph and an upper-80s slider. Klein has been a solid performer with Triple-A Omaha this season despite well below-average command.
Jared Dickey, OF
Age: 22
Drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 draft out of Tennessee, Dickey has spent all of 2024 with High-A Quad Cities. In his first full professional season Dickey has hit .269/.360/.424 with nine home runs and eight stolen bases, while seeing a majority of his time in right field. Dickey shows average plate skills, with good contact and swing decisions but his raw power is below-average. He’s a sum-of-his-parts type with no outstanding tool.
