Royals trade reliever Tim Hill to the Padres for pitcher Ronald Bolanos and outfielder Franchy Cordero

According to Matthew LaMar of SB Nation on Thursday, the Kansas City Royals traded relief pitcher Tim Hill of Mission Hills, California to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Ronald Bolanos of Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba, and outfielder Franchy Cordero of Azua, Dominican Republic. The trade comes one week before the Major League Baseball season is set to start.

The most experienced player among the three in the deal is Hill. Last season the southpaw pitched in 46 games for Kansas City and had a record of two wins and zero losses with one save and nine holds. He had an earned run average of 3.63 and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.11. In 39 2/3 innings pitched, Hill gave up 31 hits, 16 earned runs, and had 39 strikeouts compared to 13 walks. Hill’s save came in a 7-2 Royals win over the Miami Marlins on September 7.

Cordero batted .333 with the Padres in only 15 at bats in 2019. He had one double, one run batted in, one stolen base, four walks, six total bases, one sacrifice fly, two runs scored, five hits, a .450 on base percentage and .400 slugging percentage. Cordero’s double, run batted in and sacrifice fly came in a 5-3 Padres win over the St. Louis Cardinals on April 5.

Meanwhile, it was a tough season for Bolanos. In five games, he had a record of zero wins and two losses, to go along with an earned run average of 5.95.

Hill is expected to be part of the Padres bullpen that includes closer Kirby Yates, alongside relievers Drew Pomeranz, Emilio Pagan, Craig Stammen, and Mark Strahm. Cordero meanwhile should be a backup outfielder in Kansas City behind Alex Gordon, Whit Merrifield, and Hunter Dozier.