Nationals trade Brian Goodwin to Royals for prospect Jacob Condra-Bogan

On Sunday the Washington Nationals traded outfielder Brian Goodwin to the Kansas City Royals for right-handed pitcher Jacob Condra-Bogan. Here’s a quick take.

Brian Goodwin, OF: Goodwin is not a prospect of course, having amassed 358 at-bats in the major leagues since his arrival in Washington in 2016. In that time he’s hit .246/.315/.464 with 16 homers, 35 walks, and 109 strikeouts. He’s flashed ability and had some good moments, including slugging .498 in 251 at-bats with the Nationals in 2017, but never got established with a full-time role and was blocked behind other players this year.

At age 27 he is at his theoretical peak now and it would be logical for the Royals to give him as much playing time as possible in the second half. I think his career slash is a fair representation of his ability.

Jacob Condra-Bogan, RHP: This is an unusual case. Condra-Bogan was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 32nd round as a college senior in 2017 from Georgia Southern. Usually a senior with no leverage drafted in the later rounds is an automatic sign (for very little money, often just $1,000); but the Jays and Condra-Bogan did not come to terms. He got a better offer from the Washington Wild Things in the independent Frontier League and posted a 1.17 ERA in 15 innings with a 15/3 K/BB.

More importantly, a fastball up to 99 MPH caught the eyes of Royals scouts and they picked him up as a free agent over the winter. He’s continued to impress in A-ball, posting a 3.00 ERA with a 40/3 K/BB in 27 innings in Low-A and High-A this year.

Condra-Bogan is listed at 6-3, 220, born August 30th, 1994. He’s been more 94-96 this year but his statistics are excellent across the board with a very high whiff rate combined with very few walks. He could be a fine middle reliever moving forward.