Trading Jonathan Bowlan to Philadelphia for Matt Strahm seemed a reasonable thing to do when the Kansas City Royals pulled the trigger on just that deal back in December. Bowlan had been serviceable, but not consistently remarkable, in parts of three seasons for the Royals, while Strahm had become an accomplished big league reliever after KC, with whom he broke into the majors in 2016, dealt him away to the Padres during the 2017 campaign.
A little more than six months after the Bowlan deal and almost three months into the Royals’ all-but-lost 2026 season (Monday’s loss to Washington dropped them 15 games below .500), Bowlan has overcome an early April groin strain and is 2-0 with a 3.92 ERA in 20 games for the Phillies, while an ugly 5.40 ERA mars Strahm’s 23-appearance, 3-1 record through Monday. It’s a homecoming with little to celebrate.
Bowlan is no longer Kansas City’s concern, but Strahm most certainly is — without improvement, the veteran left-hander could drive the club crazy when the midsummer trade deadline nears. Here’s why.
Why Did the Royals Go After Matt Strahm?
Kansas City’s interest in bringing Strahm home was understandable. The Royals needed some fine-tuning after a disappointing 2025 season that left them just a few wins short of a second consecutive trip to the playoffs. The bullpen wasn’t free of concerns as baseball’s winter began, and Strahm seemed like someone who could provide immediate help.
He’d been quite good for the Phillies after joining them as a free agent after the 2022 campaign, posting an excellent 2.71 ERA across three seasons and 188 appearances. His 0.955 WHIP, 4.94 SO/BB ratio, 30.4 K%, 6.16 BB%, and 160 ERA+ were all good, and he won 17 games and saved 11.
And he became an All-Star for the first time when he went 6-2 with a 1.87 ERA to help the Phils roll to the 2024 National League East Division title.
But this season, his 11th in the majors, hasn’t been what Strahm and the Royals wanted when they gave up Bowlan to get him. Yes, he’s won three times and lost only once, but he’s surrendered 13 runs in 21 1/3 innings.
Concerning, too, is his performance this month — through Monday, he’d given up home runs in each of his last four games and in five of his six June appearances. His ERA for the month was 10.13 (six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings), and opponents were hitting .273 against him.
He blew a save by giving Jake Burger a leadoff seventh-inning home run in KC’s June 10 loss to Texas, and blew another Saturday night when, after hitting leadoff man Isaac Paredes in the eighth, he yielded a game-tying homer to Jose Altuve. The Royals lost 8-7.
Strahm also had a 5.00 ERA in April. He improved to 3.18 in May, but it was a small sample size month — knee inflammation forced him to the Injured List for 15 days and limited him to just six appearances.
And as Royals Keep writer Kevin O’Brien pointed out recently, many of his other 2026 peripherals are troubling.
Will Matt Strahm Pose Trade Deadline Troubles For the Royals?
Quite possibly. Because this is a contract season for him, Strahm was a likely midsummer trade candidate as soon as he arrived in Arizona for spring training. That he’s a veteran reliever increases the chances he could be moved by this season’s later-than-usual Aug. 3 deal deadline.
But J.J. Picollo can’t trade without a trade partner, and unless it gets considerably better, Strahm’s body of 2026 work may well make it hard for KC’s general manager to drum up much interest in him — especially enough to net the Royals strong value in return. Combined with his unflattering stats, his age — 34 now, 35 in November — could also get in the way of any meaningful deal.
It is unfortunate that Strahm may not size up as a viable trade candidate when the market heats up next month. Making matters worse is that he isn’t giving the club much reason to bring him back next season — without a trade, they may be left with little to show for giving up Jonathan Bowlan.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source royalskeep.com ’
