Why Phillies have already won their Matt Strahm trade with Royals

Over the offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies made a move that wasn't typically characteristic of a World Series contender. They traded Matt Strahm, a veteran reliever who had been one of the Phillies' best recently, to the Kansas City Royals.

It was a trade that some fans weren't the biggest fans of, as Strahm had been pitching very well for the Phillies the last couple of seasons. But, in June, only a few months later, the Phillies are looking good for this trade.

Strahm was named as a likely trade chip for the Royals by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic for the 2026 MLB trade deadline. That alone has the Phillies as winners, but the one-for-one swap is also going the Phillies way right now.

Phillies won the Matt Strahm trade with the Royals

"Left-hander Kris Bubic, a potential free agent, would be more likely to go, along with others on expiring contracts - outfielder Lane Thomas, lefty reliever Matt Strahm, and righty reliever John Schreiber, among them," Rosnethal writes.

Strahm is a trade deadline candidate for the Royals, which means that Kansas City might not even get a full season out of Strahm after trading for him over the offseason.

The Phillies got Jonathan Bowlan in return for Strahm, and he is under club control through the 2031 season, so the Phillies aren't in any rush to part ways with the right-handed reliever.

Strahm has 0.1 bWAR with a 4.43 ERA, 18 strikeouts, and a 94 ERA+ across 20.1 innings pitched for the Royals this season.

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Bowlan has 0.1 bWAR with a 3.92 ERA, 21 strikeouts, and a 114 ERA+ across 20.2 innings pitched for the Phillies this season.

Their statistical profiles are very similar, but based on ERA+, Bowlan has been roughly 20-percent better than Strahm has this season, so the Phillies are winners already strictly looking at the 2026 season.

But, with Strahm a free agent after 2026, the Royals are now looking to trade him by the August 3 deadline, while Bowlan looks to be a core part of the bullpen for a while.

This was a one-for-one trade, and the Phillies have been clear winners of this trade, with Bowlan pitching better than Strahm this season, and the long-term outlook heavily favors the Phillies' side of this trade.

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