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Matt Strahm is happy to be back in a Kansas City Royals uniform, but he’s also attempting to set the record straight about the end of his time with the Philadelphia Phillies.<\/p>\n
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After Strahm was traded to Kansas City for righty Jonathan Bowlan on Dec. 19, word came out that the end of his time in Philadelphia had included “growing friction” (via Matt Gelb<\/a> of The Athletic). Even after an All-Star appearance in 2024 and another strong year in 2025, the Phillies essentially salary-dumped the 34-year-old.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n During an appearance on Foul Territory last week, Strahm wanted something to be very clear: He doesn’t consider himself to be a difficult teammate to have in any capacity. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you like our content,\u00a0<\/em>choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n “I don’t think there’s one guy in there that would say a bad thing about me.”@MattStrahm<\/a> says he’s unaware of any player he butted heads with in Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com\/s1HidvT1cB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m unaware of any player I\u2019ve ever butted a head with there,\u201d Strahm said. \u201cI\u2019m a middle reliever. I\u2019m not going to be a Hall of Famer, but the one thing I can control is being a good teammate. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s one guy in there that would say a bad thing about me. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Everything\u2019s business. I\u2019ll call a spade a spade. In this business, those guys usually aren\u2019t liked. But at least I know I have my job because I am the guy for the job.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Strahm, who began his major league career with the Royals in 2016 and spent 5 1\/2 years in the organization after being drafted out of Neosho County Community College in nearby Chanute, Kan., had effusive praise for his current organization.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe Kansas City Royals do an unbelievable job of not only producing major league athletes, but they produce men,\u201d Strahm said. \u201cLike that is something that I was brought up with Kansas City and (former Royals general manager) Dayton Moore, his whole thing was, \u2018We\u2019re going to have good ball players, but we\u2019re going to first make sure that you guys are good men.\u2019 Kansas City, in my opinion, they do it the right way.” <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Strong words from a pitcher looking to both help the Royals back to the playoffs and win over the fan base.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n More MLB: <\/strong><\/em>Ex-Red Sox, Rangers Backstop Signs With Royals In Free Agency<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\nStrahm talks trade out of Philadelphia<\/h2>\n
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