Questionable offseason Royals trade with Brewers suddenly looks like a clear fleece

In search of outfield help and more consistency in the bullpen this winter, the Kansas City Royals dealt left-handed relief regular Angel Zerpa to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for young outfielder Isaac Collins and right-handed reliever Nick Mears. The Royals didn't have an abundance of southpaws to deal from in a relief sense so sending away someone who could produce the highs that Zerpa did at his best made this trade a questionable one, no matter how many boxes they ticked in the return.

However, after Zerpa hit the Brewers' injured list with the always nerve-racking forearm tightness last week, the worst case scenario for him and Milwaukee became reality this week after it was announced that the lefty would undergo Tommy John surgery, thus ending his season. And for the Brewers, they didn't even get to really benefit from Zerpa while he was on the mound, as his 6.39 ERA and 1.74 WHIP looked nothing like the arm that was dominating in Venezuela's World Baseball Classic championship run.

So, now that leaves the Brewers with an pitcher that won't be back until at least mid-season next year, with just one more arbitration year after that before hitting free agency at the end of 2028. Meanwhile the Royals are left with a pair of key major league contributors in Collins and Mears who both are strengthening the team's current postseason push while still having years of control beyond 2026 - Collins has four after this season and Mears has one more.

Isaac Collins and Nick Mears are blossoming into key Royals regulars

After a rough spring training for both Collins and Mears, the Royals at least got some production out of their return when the season first began, as Mears settled in as a reliable arm when much of their bullpen was struggling. And even now that it's doing better, Mears continues to play a key role.

As a regular late-inning fixture, he's throwing to a 2.13 ERA with 3.22 FIP, 1.03 WHIP and .140 BAA. This ranks him second across the board amongst Royals relievers with 10 or more innings pitched, only trailing Daniel Lynch IV in every category while bettering the two surefire late-inning options entering the season in current closer Lucas Erceg and former All-Star Matt Strahm.

Meanwhile, while Collins took a bit of time to adjust, he's starting to look more like the center piece of he was perceived to be in this deal and has been a huge boost to the Royals during their recent hot stretch where they've won five straight and nine of their last 11 contests.

Since April 24 when this stretch began, Collins is slashing .382/.511/.647 with a 20% walk rate and a 215 wRC+, which each ranks the best out of all qualified Royals hitters in this span. And his two homers and eight RBI place him tied for third and second respectively under those same parameters.

We may only be just over a month into the season, but when we're talking about a player undergoing Tommy John surgery that was exchanged for two active contributors, the fleece argument is always going to be present, no matter how unfortunate the circumstances are that brought this on. Then, when you consider just how crucial both Mears and Collins have been to the Royals recent winning efforts, that fleece argument is only magnified that much further.

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