Kansas City Royals make first pre-deadline trade: Aroldis Chapman dealt for prospects

The Kansas City Royals on Friday traded reliever Aroldis Chapman to the Texas Rangers in exchange for two players.

The Royals acquired pitcher Cole Ragans and outfielder Roni Cabrera in the deal, which comes one month ahead of Major League Baseball’s Aug. 1 trade deadline.

The Royals signed Chapman to a one-year contract worth $3.5 million this past offseason. The hard-throwing veteran had been viewed as a potential trade candidate with the Royals sitting 23-58 entering Friday evening’s series opener against the L.A. Dodgers at Kauffman Stadium.

Chapman owns a 2.45 ERA in 31 relief appearances. He has recorded 53 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings.

“There was a lot of interest in Chapman and Texas seemed to be the most aggressive team in pursuit of his talents,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said.

The Royals received two intriguing prospects from the Rangers in Ragans, 25, and Cabrera, 17. Both will be assigned to Triple-A Omaha.

Ragans projects as a starter and has MLB experience. Cabrera is a promising outfielder who was playing for the Rangers’ affiliate in the Dominican Summer League.

Ragans was selected in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft. Last season, he was named the Rangers’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year after posting a 3.04 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 18 minor-league starts.

Ragans has undergone Tommy John surgery twice. But the Royals received a good report from his medical evaluation.

“There is some risk,” Picollo said. “(But t)wo-time Tommy John is becoming more frequent than we have seen in the past.

“What we have seen (from Ragans) is an uptick in velocity. He threw 134 innings last year. He is well removed from the second Tommy John (procedure), which is a great sign.”

With a power fastball and solid breaking ball, Ragans has a 5.92 ERA in 17 major-league appearances this season. He was optioned to Triple-A on June 13 and seemed to reverse his fortunes there: In his three most recent minor-league starts combined, he allowed five hits and three runs and struck out 15 batters.

Cabrera has an intriguing skill-set. He was hitting .310 with one home run, 10 RBIs and six steals with the Rangers’ Red team in the Dominican Republic.

The Rangers signed Cabrera as a minor-league free agent last season. The Royals like his projection and what they see as a high ceiling.

“You look at the tools, they are impressive,” Picollo said. “You look at the data on a 17-year-old, the batted-ball data is impressive as well. It’s an upside player. It’s almost like adding somebody to your draft class.”

As Chapman departs, the Royals will evaluate several options for late-game situations. Relievers Carlos Hernandez and Taylor Clarke, for instance, could see more usage.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro didn’t rule out a bullpen rotation for the late innings. He will have a chance to evaluate multiple pitchers for altered roles.

“You don’t just slot somebody else in there,” Quatraro said. “There aren’t too many Aroldis Chapmans walking around. The best thing we have to offer here is opportunity. We have people with good arms and good stuff. We need to give them opportunities to pitch in relief.”

Amir Garrett reinstated from injured list

In a move related to Friday’s trade, the Royals reinstated veteran reliever Amir Garrett from the injured list. He had missed time with a left-elbow injury. He will be available in the bullpen against the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend.