Kansas City Royals land three pitchers in trade with Padres

The Kansas City Royals acquired Trevor Cahill, Brandon Maurer and Ryan Buchter in exchange for left-handed pitchers Travis Wood and Matt Strahm along with minor league infielder Esteury Ruiz.

General Manager Dayton Moore said the Kansas City Royals were going to buyers at the trade deadline.

He proved it a week before.

With the Royals coming off a fifth consecutive win on Sunday, Moore made the move that cements a push for a third postseason berth in four years.

While it’s not on the level of landing a Johnny Cueto (or some would argue even Ben Zobrist), the additions should still be a welcome sight for Royals fans.

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Cahill should slot in perfectly into the rotation, likely replacing Wood, who started Sunday’s win over the Chicago White Sox. Maurer and Buchter—the former a righty, the latter a lefty—will be nice bullpen additions.

The right-handed Cahill has a 4-3 record with a 3.69 ERA and 72 strikeouts (against 24 walks) in 61 innings. After coming into the majors as a member of the Oakland Athletics, Cahill has bounced around the National League with stops in Arizona, Atlanta and Chicago before landing with San Diego this offseason.

Maurer has saved 33 games for the Padres over the past two seasons, including 20 this year. He has an ugly 5.72 ERA, but his FIP is at a career-low 3.23.

For comparison, Kelvin Herrera sports a 4.50 ERA against a 4.62 FIP.

Buchter has 47 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings of work to go with a 3.05 ERA.

As for what the Royals gave up, Wood and his 6.91 ERA has been a major disappointment after being a solid contributor (4-0 record, 2.95 ERA) on the Cubs’ World Series-winning team.

Before suffering a season-ending knee injury, Strahm had thrown 34 2/3 innings for the Royals this season with a 2-5 record and a 5.75 ERA.

The 18-year-old Ruiz is obviously the piece San Diego will be most looking forward to seeing. In 21 games in the Arizona League, he is slashing .419/.440/.729 along with 22 runs scored, three homers and 23 RBI. Ruiz is also nine-for-nine on stolen-base attempts.

Less than a week ago, it seemed the Royals would be wise to shift to sell mode. Five wins later, Moore decided to pull the trigger.

A majority of Royals fans are likely rejoicing.

Next: Will winning streak continue in Detroit?

And who knows, maybe there is another move to come in the next week.