Nationals Trade Brian Goodwin To Royals For Pitching Prospect

Image credit: Brian Goodwin (Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images)

The Royals and Nationals are becoming frequent trading partners.

Just over a month after the Royals traded closer Kelvin Herrera to the Nationals, the teams struck another deal on Sunday afternoon. The Nationals traded outfielder Brian Goodwin to Kansas City, receiving minor league reliever Jacob Condra-Bogan in return.

The move is an uncharacteristic one for the Royals in 2018. Kansas City’s previous eight trades this calendar year involved them trading away veterans and receiving prospects. They flipped the script in this deal, trading away a prospect and receiving a veteran.

Nationals acquire:

Jacob Condra-Bogan, RHP
Age: 23 

The Blue Jays drafted Condra-Bogan in the 32nd round out of Georgia Southern last year, but he didn’t sign and went instead to pitch in independent Frontier League. The Royals signed him in January, and he posted a 2.08 ERA with 39 strikeouts and two walks in 26 innings of relief at low Class A Lexington before earning a promotion. Condra-Bogan sat 90-94 mph as a starter in camp and reportedly touched 99 mph as a reliever at Lexington. He has solid feel to pitch and average fastball command, but his upper-70s changeup and mid-80s slider are below-average pitches that don’t project to play in the major leagues. Condra-Bogan’s velocity, strike-throwing and feel are all positive traits, but most evaluators see him as a minor league organizational arm due to his lack of secondaries.

Royals acquire:

Brian Goodwin, OF
Age: 27

The 2011 first-rounder appeared to have finally broken out last year with an .811 OPS, but a wrist injury limited him to just 48 games this year and he was squeezed out of playing time with Juan Soto, Bryce Harper and Adam Eaton—all lefthanded hitters like Goodwin—healthy and playing together in the Nats outfield. Goodwin, who was out of options, showed intriguing flashes of power and speed when given everyday playing time last year, with the ability to play all three outfield positions. He won’t be a free agent until 2023 and has a chance to solidify himself as a member of the Royals’ outfield for the foreseeable future.