Royals acquire Weaver from D-backs for Rivera

CHICAGO -- In a move to strengthen their pitching staff and give them more flexibility ahead of Tuesday's 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline, the Royals acquired right-hander Luke Weaver from the D-backs for third baseman Emmanuel Rivera, the club announced on Monday night.

Weaver, who turns 29 this month, has made 12 appearances (one start) for Arizona this season with a 7.71 ERA -- a number that ballooned early because of right shoulder inflammation. He missed most of April and all of May dealing with the injury, but over eight appearances in July, he allowed one run on four hits to go with eight strikeouts over eight innings.

The Royals have been intrigued by Weaver for some time, ever since the Cardinals selected the Florida State University product in the first round (No. 27 overall) of the 2014 MLB Draft. And when the Royals’ front office saw him pitch as a reliever this year, they thought he would fit well in their bullpen.

Weaver's velocity ticked up to 97 mph at times, while his changeup and breaking ball have both been solid. He’s commanded the ball well, with a 2.13 walk-per-nine ratio since he returned from the injured list.

Kansas City’s bullpen led the Majors in walks (196) entering Monday night's series opener against the White Sox.

Weaver, whose first big league manager with St. Louis was current Royals skipper Mike Matheny, will pitch exclusively out of the bullpen in 2022. He is being paid $2.88 million and he will be arbitration-eligible for the third time this offseason, so Kansas City will assess what role he best fits in for the club in ’23.

“There did seem to be another gear when he was throwing out of the bullpen,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “And then when you add in his breaking ball and changeup, it’s a pretty good arsenal. The other thing that really stood out is he commands the ball really well. Low walk rate, and I think he’ll complement what we’re trying to do in the ‘pen very well.”

The D-backs had been interested in Rivera for weeks, hoping to add a young and controllable right-handed hitter to their mix. The 26-year-old appeared in 63 games for the Royals this season, posting a .237/.284/.399 slash line and seeing most of his playing time at third base.

Without Rivera, the Royals don’t have a glaringly obvious third baseman of the future right now, but Kansas City felt confident enough in its depth at the hot corner this year that it could deal Rivera as it targets pitchers. Bobby Witt Jr., Nicky Lopez and Hunter Dozier have played third in the Majors, as well as Michael Massey, ranked as the club's No. 20 prospect by MLB Pipeline, in the Minors.

“When you’re trying to think about your team moving forward, what do you have a little bit of excess of right now that you could possibly deal to try to add to an area that we felt like we needed depth?” Picollo said. “I would consider this a good baseball deal for both teams.”

So what comes next ahead of Tuesday’s 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline? After dealing Andrew Benintendi to the Yankees last week, Kansas City still has several possible trade candidates on its roster. And adding Weaver gives the club flexibility in the bullpen should it make more moves.

“We’re waiting it out to see what we think, if anything, makes sense for us,” Picollo said. “I think what this move does, what it allows us to do, is feel like we have depth in the bullpen. If something makes sense with one of our bullpen arms, then we’ve protected ourselves a little bit.

“Hard to tell what’s going to happen between now and tomorrow afternoon.”

According to sources, right-handers Josh Staumont and Scott Barlow are generating trade interest from contending teams. Staumont, while he’s dealt with command issues, is a high-powered reliever sure to fit at the back-end of a bullpen when he’s healthy and in control.

Barlow has been one of the Royals’ most reliable arms for the past two seasons, posting a 2.43 ERA since the start of 2021 with 32 saves and 137 strikeouts in 122 innings. On Monday, the Brewers acquired five players from the Padres -- including two Top 30 prospects -- for lefty Josh Hader, one of the best closers in baseball who has a year of control beyond ’22.

Barlow is not as dominant as Hader, but Kansas City's closer isn’t a free agent until 2025. If contending teams hope to add bullpen help ahead of the postseason push, Barlow is a likely candidate, and the Royals will want to receive a strong offer before dealing him.

Knowing Weaver is on his way perhaps makes those conversations a bit easier.